Disaster preparedness thru SMS technology project is 80% operational

Disaster preparedness thru SMS technology project is 80% operational
By ES Gorne
Philippine Information Agency
May 19, 2011

SOUTHERN LEYTE, May 19 (PIA)--The short message system (SMS) also commonly known as text messaging technology project on disaster preparedness in Southern Leyte is 80% operational.

The two - year “Strengthening Disaster Preparedness of Southern Leyte thru SMS Technology” project, which was launched last September 2010, is already 80% functional, Project Consultant Jason Calva disclosed to PIA recently.

The deficiency of 20% performance of the project is already taken into consideration by the Smart Company by looking into some remedies particularly with the technical absence of Smart signals specifically in the municipality of San Ricardo, while a few of the barangay captains included in the project whose skills in text messaging needs to be harnessed yet, Calva said.

Calva said that except for the municipal info board administrator in San Ricardo which is still paralyzed in its operations however, its five barangays can already send incident reports thru text messages to the provincial info board administrator since these barangays said were geographically located facing Surigao hence the presence of Smart signals were not a problem to them.

Calva reported that incident reports coming from at least 50 barangays being sent to the provincial information board administrator were already in place.

He added that the project is the first in the whole world, where Vietnam is already waiting to replicate the text messaging as a tool in disaster preparedness. The project is also being monitored by other provinces like Albay province.

That the SMS technology in disaster preparedness is a P10 Million pilot project of the Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP), the World Bank and the SMART Company.