By Alpine L. Killa

Bontoc, Mountain Province –In its continuing effort to ensure effective management of vulnerability and preventive mitigation before exposure to hazards may happen, the Provincial Government of Mountain Province spearheaded a three-day Risk Assessment Applied Geotagging Seminar on June 2015.

According to Sahlee Marie Cherwaken of the Provincial Planning and Development Office (PPDO), geotagging will help determine the condition of an area if it is safe from any disaster that may occur.

Cherwaken explained that Geotagging is the process of adding geographical identification meta-data to various media such as photographs or video. This data usually consists of latitude and longitude coordinates, though they can also include altitude, bearing, distance, accuracy data and place names.

She added that the tagged files may be used to determine the nature and extent of risk by analyzing potential hazards and evaluating existing conditions of vulnerability that could possibly harm people, property, services, livelihood and the environment.

Cherwaken relayed that the participants were lectured on geotagging as applied in risk assessment and underwent hands-on exercise such as installation of software applications, capturing of photos, and uploading of geotagged photographs.
At least thirty individuals participated in the seminar comprising personnel from the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) – Provincial Office, municipal fire stations, municipal police stations and the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Offices (MDRRMOs) in the province.