As Typhoon Mangkhut (local name: Ompong) ripped through the northern part of the Philippines over the weekend (Sep 14-15), FPVI was hosting a team of researchers from Kyoto Sangyo University in Japan who were in Leyte for a research survey on disaster preparedness and resiliency, especially as it applied to survivors of super typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) in 2013. Classes were suspended and so some of our FPVI students were able to support the Japanese researchers with local interviews and also acted as their intermediaries in community visits, gaining awareness of the local government unit (LGU) program of disaster preparedness and acquiring a new set of skills in community relations.
