He is among the five AIT students who joined TSF's roster of volunteers
in April offering to be a volunteer to be deployed in response to
emergencies in the Asia-Pacific. He is currently pursuing a Master’s in
Disaster Preparedness, Mitigation and Management (DPMM) program at
AIT.
TSF, which is a partner of the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT),
provides technical training on satellite communications equipment. In
emergencies, TSF provides UNDAC with ICT support to help set up
field-based operation centers which support government and aid agencies
in disaster situations. They are installed at disaster locations where
local telecommunications has been cut, or in remote areas with no local
communication infrastructure. TSF had earlier deployed with UNDAC in
response to Typhoons Ketsana and Parma in October 2009, which killed
more than 700 people and affected more than six million across the
country.
This yea,r the Philippines National Disaster Coordinating Council
(NDCC) deployed a TSF communications kit in the aftermath of Typhoon
Conson which severed power and communication in several regions of the
archipelago. According to the NDCC, Typhoon Conson, the first of the
season, affected more than 240,000 people and killed 111 people. 48
people are also still missing. TSF kits were notably used to maintain
contact with the search and rescue team working to find and help
survivors on Polilio Island in the Philippine archipelago.
TSF telecom center at Tuguerarao in
the Philippines