National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council

Last week, University of the Philippines researchers released findings through social media that this year's El Niño will be particularly strong.

This week, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council placed one hundred six areas in the Philippines under a state of calamity due to drought brought on by the El Niño and added warnings that much of the rest of the country may experience higher than normal temperatures, water shortages, and possibly severe weather events for the next several months because of it.

Likewise, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the National Water Resources Board in the past several days have issued directives urging citizens to begin conserving water and directing water utilities to begin seeking alternative or backup water supply sources in anticipation of the expected drought.

The frustrating thing about all of this is that the emergence of El Niño now has been known for nearly a year, and the fact that this year's event would be particularly strong has been known for at least five to six months.

And the infrastructure damage compounded everything.

The NDRRMC, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, estimated infrastructure damage at 1.356 billion pesos, with 127 roads and 47 bridges affected.

When roads and bridges go down, emergency responders can't get in, supplies can't move, and people can't get out.

The Pacific Disaster Center's case study on this event specifically highlighted blocked roads and access routes as one of the key challenges responders faced.

The Pacific Disaster Center highlighted how the FilAware system, which is the Philippines' disaster awareness platform, enabled immediate situational awareness and coordinated decision-making.

A PDC event brief was generated within minutes of impact.

That kind of rapid data integration is what allows the NDRRMC and the Office of Civil Defense to manage concurrent hazards, landslides, tsunami impacts, damaged infrastructure, all at the same time.

And there was also this really fascinating angle with satellite data, right? Like scientists were literally watching the disaster from space.

We have spent so much time.

The first time in Ansell, in NDRRM.

Our line ministry, ministry of home, army, all of them have made it possible to do the microwave link.

We have lifted our people, put them in place and revived the site.

And your palace was the action I have never seen from all the fronts.

All the fronts.

From the Army, APF, Home Ministry, NDRRMA.

We had a