The Role Of STREAM-EWS in Disaster Preparedness and Strengthening Community Resilience

"We used to panic whenever it rained heavily because the water level would rise suddenly. Our things would get soaked, and we would rush to save them," shared Fernando B. Escartin Jr., a resident of Brgy. Cabugao, Bacuag. "During Typhoon Odette, only Purok 1 was spared from flooding, all other areas were submerged."

The absence of a real-time, community-specific early warning system (EWS) has long been a gap in disaster preparedness efforts. To address this, the Strengthening Resilience through Early action and Impact Mitigation-Early Warning System (STREAM-EWS) was introduced, transitioning communities from outdated and often unreliable alert methods to mobile-based early warning messages. This initiative aims to enhance disaster preparedness, minimize losses, and improve response times in high-risk areas.