BATANGAS CITY, (PNA) – – A tsunami early warning system, to be donated by the United Nations World Food Programme (UN-WFP), is expected to be established off the coastal waters of the province of Batangas soon.
This after the provincial government, through the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (PDRRMC), drew up a disaster-mitigation project proposal in coordination with key national and foreign agencies.
Batangas PDRRMC head Pedrito Martin M. Dijan Jr. said the proposed project was discussed during a recent meeting among the representatives of the UN-WFP, Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS), Advance Science Technology Institute (ASTI) and local chief executives of the province’s 13 coastal towns.
During the meeting, the officials of the 13 coastal towns were told of their responsibility and accountability regarding the early warning system device.
Phivolcs Supervising Science Research Specialist Angelito Lanuza explained that unlike storms and typhoons an earthquake cannot be predicted.
He said a strong tremor may generate a tsunami which may likely hit the coastal areas in Batangas given its proximity to the Manila Trench, which is located near the Lubang Island in Mindoro.
With the proposed putting up of an early warning system, a Detection Station would be established at the coastal waters and information gathered by the apparatus will automatically be transmitted to a computer system, which in turn will transmit data to cellular phones of the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction Officers (MDRRMOs) and focal persons in the coastal towns.
The system would also release sounds, through loudspeakers, when a tsunami is detected to signal for the evacuation of people living in the coastal areas.