Seminar on Disaster Risk Reduction and Infrastructure Development

CIV680 is a graduate seminar on Disaster Risk Reduction and Infrastructure Development (DRRID) in the graduate program for Civil Engineering. The course presents the impact of natural hazards on the built environment and explores ways of reducing the adverse effects of the natural hazards and improving infrastructure and community resilience. The topics that are discussed include disaster and development, natural hazards (earthquakes, volcanoes, wind, flood), risk, vulnerability, risk assessment, hazard analysis, disaster risk reduction (DRR), infrastructure resilience and climate change adaptation (CCA).  The primary objective of the course is "to develop champions and advocates for DRR, CCA and Disaster Resilience." The course aims to integrate civil engineering to the broader problem on DRR, CCA and Resilience Building.

I introduced this course in 2014. In this, I invited faculty members in the college to deliver lectures on specialized topics related to DRRID. This term 2 AY2018-2019, I wish to express my gratitude to the following faculty members:

1. Dr. Lessandro Garciano - Wind Hazards 
2. Dr. Renan Tanhueco - Flood Hazards and Land Use Planning
3. Dr. Mario De Leon - Tsunami, Storm Surge and Coastal Communities
4. Dr. Jonathan Dungca - Geotechnical Hazards 
5. Dr. Maricel Paringit - GIS and Mapping in DRRM
6. Dr. Jojo Mutuc - System Dynamics and DRR

The culminating activity of the course is the DRRID Graduate Forum held last April 6, 2019 at DLSU Velasco Hall from 1:00 PM - 6:30 PM. In this activity, each student presents his/her seminar paper related to the theme of the course. 

The guest speaker in the forum was Dr. Emmanuel Luna, Professor in Community Development at UP Diliman and a director of the UP Resilience Institute. His presentation was on "Recovery of Infrastructures from Disasters: Lessons from Philippine Cases."

Dr. Luna presents his lecture  on Recovery of Infrastructures from Disasters: Lessons from Philippine Cases

The DRRID2019 Forum followed the program below:

Session 1 Opening Program - Emcee: Engr. Robert R. Dancel 

•       Opening Prayer       – Engr. Angelica P. Saludo
•       Welcome Message   – Dr. Andres Oreta (Professor, DLSU)
•       Keynote Speech: Recovery of Infrastructures from Disasters: Lessons from Philippine Cases - Dr. Emmanuel M. Luna (Prof, UP Resilience Institute)

Session 2 DRRID Session 1 – Session Chair: Engr. Jon Arnel Telan

• P1: Guidelines for Development of Contingency Plan for Stranded Workers During Sudden Urban Disaster - Revin Berces
• P2: 3D Printed House for Disaster Affected Areas - Robert R. Dancel
• P3: Evaluating the site suitability of evacuation centers against natural hazards using GIS - Aujhen De Torres
• P4: Seismic Risk Assessment of Metro Manila Bridges  - Eden S. Ditchella
• P5: Fire Risk And Hazard Assessment Of Heritage Building: Case Of University Of Santo Tomas, Main Building - John Emmanuel C. Endaya

Session 3 DRRID Session 2 – Session Chair: Engr. Aujhen De Torres

•  P6: Assessment of Disaster Awareness & Preparedness of Selected Barangays in San Juan City - Marc Daniel D. Laurina
•  P7: Seismic Risk Assesment of Military Facilities: Case study of Fort Magsaysay - Albert Pamonag
•  P8: Earthquake Vulnerability Assessment of Medical Facilities Inside the University of Santo Tomas Campus - Angelica P. Saludo
• P9: Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment of Century Old Churches in Pampanga - Rejoice Marie P. Sambo
• P10: Liquefaction Potential Assessment of Areas near Specific Creeks in Manila - Jon Arnel S. Telan 

Robert Dancel, PhD student and the chair of the forum presents a certificate of appreciation to Dr. Luna

The DRRID2019 Forum pamphlet with the abstracts of the seminar papers

 A best presentation was selected by Dr. Luna and Engr. Jon Arnel Telan was the selected the best presentor.