The Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) here has cautioned the public against activities that may exacerbate fire hazards amid the searing heat brought about by the El Niño phenomenon.
‘We should be vigilant and careful in observing practices to avoid fire risks, especially with the hot weather that would provide suitable conditions to ignite a fire,’ BFP City Fire Marshall Chief Inspector Marlon Chomling said on Tuesday.
His reminder came following a fire late Monday afternoon that razed three lodging houses here.
Chomling advised residents to inspect electrical appliances for faulty wiring, conserve water to avoid a reduction in the city’s supply, stop burning trash and reckless throwing of cigarette butts in highly combustible places such as dried grasslands, and the wise use of electric devices that may overheat.
While the city still has enough water supply, he said the fire department sometimes has to look for alternative fire hydrants as the water pressure drops due to the heavy volume of usage.
Meanw
hile, fire probers have yet to determine the cause of a fire that razed three units of two-story residential buildings along the national highway in Barangay Daro on Monday.
The City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO) said the blaze affected two senior citizens and 19 lodgers, many of them students. No casualty was reported.
They are now accommodated at the Barangay Daro gymnasium, while the City Social Welfare and Development Office immediately handed out food and sleeping kits.
Chomling estimated the extent of damage at PHP400,000.
DUMAGUETE: At least PHP77 million worth of rice, corn, and other high-value crops have been damaged in Negros Oriental by the ongoing drought-spawned El Niño phenomenon, an official said Tuesday.
Alejandro Rafal, who heads the Department of Agriculture-Provincial Agriculture Technology Coordinating Office (DA-PATCO) in Negros Oriental, said local government units began submitting their drought damage assessment report last week.
In Bayawan City, the total damage to rice and corn was over PHP30 million, with 792 rice and corn farmers affected.
Mabinay town also reported roughly PHP18-million damage to crops, with 550 rice farmers affected.
In Zamboanguita, the dry spell wreaked havoc on 430 hectares of rice and irrigation worth PHP27.9 million.
Drought was so severe in the area that it rendered a small irrigation system out of service.
In northernmost Vallehermoso, damage was estimated at PHP1 million, with 88 farmers of rice, corn, and other high-value crops and livestock affected.
Rafal said the repor
ts have yet to be validated to guide the DA, Department of Social Welfare and Development, and the Department of Labor and Employment in the distribution of government aid.
Meanwhile, government interventions continue, such as the distribution of seeds for intercropping or temporary replacement in areas affected by the dry spell.
Rafal said there is a possibility that the cropping year, which regularly begins mid-April, will be pushed back due to the abnormal weather phenomenon.
On Jan. 19, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. signed Executive Order (EO) No. 53 to streamline, reactivate, and reconstitute the old El Niño Task Force under EO No. 16 (s. 2001) and Memorandum Order No. 38 (s. 2019).
Under EO No. 53, the President instructed the task force to develop a comprehensive disaster preparedness and rehabilitation plan for El Niño and La Niña to provide ‘systematic, holistic, and results-driven interventions’ to help the public cope and minimize devastating effects.
MANILA: Volcanic smog or ‘vog’ has been observed over the Taal Caldera on Tuesday afternoon, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) reported.
Phivolcs said the vog is affecting the municipalities of Agoncillo, Laurel, Balete, Sta. Teresita, Calaca, Mabini, Mataasnakahoy, Lemery, San Nicolas, and Talisay, all in Batangas province.
Taal Volcano, which emitted 6,837 tons of sulfur dioxide on Monday, is under alert level 1 (low-level unrest).
Only one volcanic tremor that lasted 2 minutes was recorded on Tuesday.
Despite this, Phivolcs Director Teresito Bacolcol said the public should take precautions against vog.
“Wear masks. Drink plenty of water, and minimize outdoor activities,” he said in an interview.
Vog consists of fine droplets containing volcanic gas, which can cause irritations to the eyes, throat, and respiratory tract in severities depending on gas concentrations and durations of exposure.
Meanwhile, under alert level 1, entry into the Taal Volcano Island is prohibit
ed as sudden steam-driven or phreatic eruptions, volcanic earthquakes, and lethal expulsions of gas could occur and threaten the area.
PHILADELPHIA, PA / ACCESSWIRE / March 11, 2024 / CGFNS International and The DAISY FoundationTM this evening honored two nurses for their contributions to ethical international recruitment practices with the first-ever CGFNS DAISY Award for Outstanding International Nurse Recruiter. The presentation was made at a ceremony in New York City.
CGFNS International and The DAISY Foundation
Sinead Carbery, President of International Staffing Solutions for AMN Healthcare, and Christy Craft, a quality improvement nurse manager at Health Carousel, were selected as honorees from more than 140 submitted nominations.
Both honorees are registered nurses working at health professional recruitment firms and were recognized for their commitment to helping foreign-educated nurses cope with the challenges they face as they navigate their way to employment in the U.S. health system.
Carbery, herself an immigrant nurse from Ireland, has helped thousands of other migrating nurses over her nearly three decades in international recruitment. She is noted for her commitment to ethical recruitment practices and her compassion for migrating nurses and their families during their journey.
Craft leads a team whose effort resulted in more than 500 nurse assignment placements in 2023 alone. Under her guidance, the team also runs transition-to-practice and clinical residency programs that prepare migrating nurses for their duties as RNs in the U.S.
The CGFNS DAISY Award for Outstanding International Nurse Recruiter is open to individual nurses actively engaged, either directly or indirectly, in international nurse recruitment efforts. With a focus on "nurses helping nurses," the award honors those who have made an extraordinary impact on the lives of nurse migrants through their compassion, empathy, and embodying the principles of the recruitment code from the CGFNS Alliance for Ethical International Recruitment Practices.
The award was presented by CGFNS International President and CEO Dr. Peter Preziosi and Dr. Deb Zimmermann, CEO of The DAISY Foundation.
About CGFNS International, Inc. Founded in 1977 and based in Philadelphia, CGFNS International is an immigration-neutral not-for-profit organization proudly serving as the world’s largest credentials evaluation organization for the nursing and allied health professions. CGFNS International is an NGO in Consultative Status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and is a member of the Conference of NGOs in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations (CoNGO).
About The DAISY Foundation The DAISY Foundation is a not-for-profit organization, established in memory of J. Patrick Barnes, by members of his family. Patrick died at the age of 33 in late 1999 from complications of Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP), a little-known but not uncommon auto-immune disease. (DAISY is an acronym for Diseases Attacking the Immune System.) The care Patrick and his family received from Nurses while he was ill inspired the creation of The DAISY Award® for Extraordinary Nurses, an evidenced-based means of providing Nurse recognition and thanking Nurses for making a profound difference in the lives of their patients and patient families. In addition to the DAISY Award® for Extraordinary Nurses, the Foundation expresses gratitude to the nursing profession internationally in over 6,500 healthcare facilities and schools of nursing with recognition programs for nurses wherever they practice, in whatever role they serve, and throughout their careers – from nursing student through lifetime achievement, and through several lines of research grant and evidence-based practice projects funding. More information is available at https://DAISYfoundation.org.
