By Rheena Mangaoil, StratCom Intern

To develop technologies and infrastructure that help mitigate coastal disasters and risks, the Coastal Engineering and Management Research and Development Center (COASTER) based at Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU) has started to survey the coastlines of Ilocos Norte this year. 

COASTER engineers and researchers are conducting coastline surveys through a series of focus group discussions with community members in the barangays of La Paz, Gabu Norte and Sur, and Cavit, Laoag City. The research team is also conducting bathymetric survey to characterize the depth and width pattern of the Padsan River. 

Through the activities, the team aims to determine possible community risks along the coastlines and to identify flood-prone areas in the city. 

Dr. Nathaniel Alibuyog, COASTER program leader, said they will conduct another survey in the coastlines of Pagudpud, Pasuquin, Burgos, and Bangui, Ilocos Norte in the succeeding months.

“Data gathered from the survey will be used in coming up with an efficient integrated coastal management strategy that will help address issues within the coastal waters and rivers in the province,” Dr. Alibuyog said. 

The activity is part of a project component of COASTER: assessment, monitoring, and prediction of coastal flooding of selected municipalities in the Ilocos region. 

University President Shirley C. Agrupis commended the COASTER team saying, “their invaluable efforts position MMSU in the frontline of coastal risk reduction, being the country’s only center for coastal engineering.”

COASTER is a niche center in the region that is funded by the Department of Science and Technology - Philippine Council for Industry, Energy, and Emerging Technology Research and Development through its Science for Change Program. (HLY/JVBT/DPTJ, StratCom)