CAGAYAN DE ORO: Government communicators, especially those coming from local government units (LGUs), are crucial in disaster risk reduction management (DRRM) response, an official said Monday.
Sharon Juliet Arruejo, assistant weather services chief of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) national office, said LGUs must understand the importance of providing the correct information during disasters.
“Effective communication in disaster management is not just important, it is the lifeline that connects preparedness to resilience,’ Arruejo said in a statement.
She also noted the critical role of LGU communicators in improving community response through “teamwork”.
Meanwhile, Charmaine Villamil, senior science research specialist of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) national office, said communicators also need to understand the geological hazards to help in preparation for potential risks like earthquakes and landslides.
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The clarity and timeliness of information can mean the difference between chaos and coordinated action,’ she said.
Both PAGASA and Phivolcs resource persons were tapped by the Department of Science and Technology in Northern Mindanao to help LGUs and agency communicators streamline a network of DRRM information dissemination.
Source: Philippines News Agency
