Heroes from high places

Against the breathtaking backdrop of the majestic Mayon Volcano, a group of determined souls recently took to the skies — not in planes, but with drones.

Equipped with state-of-the-art drones and a sense of purpose, these were the participants of the United Nations Development Program’s innovative drone-mapping training in Albay via its SHIELD initiative.

Known for its trailblazing disaster-resilient practices and zero-casualty strategy, the province makes for an ideal setting for participants to learn from best practices and successful experiences in disaster resilience.

The participants from the provinces of Agusan Norte, Agusan Sur, Eastern Samar, Northern Samar, Davao Oriental and Quezon Province took off in a picture-perfect flight, the iconic cone providing a stunning visual and a poignant reminder of nature’s power and beauty.

These provinces face the constant threat of natural hazards, where every typhoon or earthquake carries the potential to reshape lives and landscapes.

Yet, the spirit remains unbroken.

The community and its local governments have learned to live with vigilance and hope, always ready to rebuild and recover.

The introduction of advanced drone-mapping technology through the SHIELD Program provides these disaster-prone provinces with better tools to predict, prepare for, and mitigate the negative impacts of disasters and other natural hazards.

Rose Mary Catudio is part of Eastern Samar’s Provincial Planning and Development Office.

Her work in the province involves mapping, surveying and plotting of geotags of farm-to-market roads and water system projects.

One of the challenges she encountered during her mapping work was the use of outdated equipment, which required a lot of waiting time to render and upload satellite images to mapping applications.

Despite not having the latest technology, Rose expressed optimism about her learning from the training.

“It turns out that drones can be used for digitizing maps. We’ve only used Google Earth before. Our place has many remote, upland areas that are difficult to reach for mapping, and when there are calamities, it’s easier to access through aerial views. It’s easy to see the damages caused by the calamity,” she said.

Novice drone operator Christian Jasper Portes from Quezon Province’s agriculture office highlighted how agriculture can benefit from drone technology.

Activities such as drone seeding, where drones are fitted out with seed-carrying containers, and crop health monitoring to keep watch for potential problems and optimize the field in a timely manner.

“Drones can already be used in agriculture since we’re already into modern farming. Validation and monitoring will be much easier. The drone will take care of checking the farmland or any agriculture-related areas for us,” he shared.

Albay Province has a storied history of overcoming disasters, primarily due to perennial typhoons and the eruptions of Mayon Volcano.

Albay Public Safety and Emergency Management Head Dr. Cedric Daep’s passion for disaster-risk reduction and management is contagious.

He eagerly shared his knowledge with the participants and emphasized the need for local government units to prioritize digital mapping as a tool for providing essential information for simplified planning and risk assessment.