A drone shot of Barangay San Miguel, Calumpit, Bulacan when houses were submerged in floodwaters due to the continuous rains, July 31, 2023. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News/FileMANILA — Ordinary citizens can now report different hazards such as floods, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and typhoons straight from their smart phones through a newly launched online multi-hazard platform.
 
MapaKalamidad.ph, initiated by an Indonesian-based non-profit organization, empowers Filipinos to inform, map, and share real-time images of hazards to other people in their communities. This is also seen to aid first responders and government agencies in assessing and making decisions about safety and the use different resources.
 
MapaKalamidad.ph’s Geospatial Coordinator Elton Evidente explains that the information from the platform serves as a medium which can confirm information coming from other platforms such as the Department of Science and Technology’s HazardHunterPH.

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“Tumutulong siya sa mga technical analysis tulad ng Hazard Hunter para bigyan ng validation o kung gaano kataas ang baha sa lugar na ito. Doon papasok ang crowdsourced information,” he said.
 
(It helps with other technical analyses like Hazard Hunter and validates how high floods in an area are through the crowdsourced information.)
 
“Yung taong nakakaranas mismo ng baha pwede nilang sabihin na hanggang tuhod ito, hanggang bewang, hindi makadaan ang kotse kasi may nasiraan na kotse doon. So ito yung mga bagay na pwedeng picturean, idescribe at i-pin yung location kung saan nangyari ang baha na yun.”
 
(A person caught in the middle of a flood can report how high the flood is, whether the road is passable. He/she can take a photo, describe it and pin the location where the flood is taking place.)
 
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HOW IT WORKS

A boat waits for passengers near a high ground to ferry residents to their flooded homes in Barangay Mahogani, Butuan City on February 6, 2024. Erwin Mascarinas, ABS-CBN NewsMapaKalamidad.ph is integrated to social media channels like Facebook and Telegram. Users who want to report hazards simply have to chat with a bot which will direct them to the online version of the platform where they can input information.
 
Evidente says the straightforward user interface is designed to help even those who are less tech-savvy.
 
Here are the simple steps in reporting, according to MapaKalamidad.ph:
 
Reporting via Facebook:

1. Search for @mapakalamidad on Facebook Messenger
2. Click on “Get Started” and select the disaster to report.
3. @mapakalamidad will send a one-time link to submit a disaster report.
4. Open the link and follow the instructions to input hazard location, upload photo, and description.
5. @mapakalamidad will send a reply with a link to your report.
6. Check MapaKalamidad.ph for up-to-date disaster information.
 
Reporting via Telegram:

1. Search for @kalamidadbot.
2. Click on “/start” and select the disaster to repor.t
3. @kalamidadbot will send a one-time link to submit a disaster report.
4. Open the link and follow the instructions to input hazard location, upload photo, and description.
5. @kalamidadbot will send you a reply with a link to your report.
6. Check MapaKalamidad.ph for up-to-date disaster information.

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Reporting via Web:

1. Open MapaKalamidad.ph on the browser.
2. Click the Report icon on the upper left of the page and select the disaster to report.
3. Click the Report Disaster button and follow the instructions to input hazard location, upload photo and description.
4. Check MapaKalamidad.ph on the browser for up-to-date disaster information.
 
The platform is designed for ordinary citizens to use, even people who are illiterate can use the reports since there are visual aids which can help them when making reports,” Evidente said.
 
MAINTAINING ACCURATE AND CORRECT REPORTS

Residents wade through waist deep and garbage strewn floodwaters along Araneta Avenue in Quezon City, on September 23, 2023, as heavy rains deluge the metro. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN NewsThe platform is cognizant of the challenges when it comes to the proliferation of inaccurate or completely false information. Since the public has yet to familiarize with the process of making reports, those done for training purposes will not be shown on the same page as real reports.

The platform also regularly updates hazard information both by removing those which have happened hours ago and by users updating information on a developing hazard.

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“The reports mimic the behavior of the hazard. For floods, once you make a report, it will be on the platform for 3 hours. That way, it mimics the behavior whether the flood subsided already. The report will be deleted or it will be deleted because you need to update it.”
 
Evidente adds Mapakalmidad.ph continues to partner with local governments and residents in communities in order for them to enhance their resilience to disasters through readily available digital platforms.
 
MapaKalamidad.ph, Evidente stressed, is just but one of the many platforms that seeks to help the public shield themselves from devastating effects of natural hazards and climate change.


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