By Aerol B. Pateña
Manila, (PNA) — The Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) was able to fund the production of 1,000 hydrometeorological sensor equipment, out of which 638 sensors were already installed nationwide, compared to only 63 in July 2010.
The sensors installed consist of 400 automatic rain gauges and 238 water level monitoring and 238 water level monitoring sensors.
Department of Science and Technology-Science and Technology Information Institute (DOST-STII) Director Asec. Raymund Liboro, in an interview with the Philippine News Agency, explained that these sensors send real-time weather and water level which the public can access through the website of Project NOAH.
The DOST’s Project NOAH or Nationwide Operational Assessment of Hazards is the program of the government for disaster prevention and mitigation.
The department is currently implementing its DREAM (Disaster Risk Exposure, Assessment and Mitigation) Project which aims to produce highly accurate three-dimensional (3-D) flood hazard maps using state of the art LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) technology.
“The DOST-DREAM project seeks to establish an integrated early flood warning system in the 18 major river basins around the country which are considered as areas prone to flooding during severe weather event,” Asec. Liboro said.
To date, 17 out of 18 river basins have been LIDAR-mapped, covering an area of 25,000 square kilometers of flood plains
A year after its launching, the project has been proven effective during the recent onslaught of the “Habagat” in the country as he cited Marikina City for recording zero casualties.
“Because of the real-time information provided by Project NOAH, the local government authorities were able to evacuate residents living near the Marikina River ahead of time,” according to Liboro.
Disaster risk management officials were able to predict how much water would fall in the city by looking at the amount of rainfall that would fall in the 26,226-hectare Upper Marikina River Basin Protected Landscape—formerly known as the Marikina Watershed Reservation—during a specific time.
The DREAM project was also used to map out safe and unsafe areas and identify possible relocation sites in Compostela Valley following the devastation brought by Typhoon Pablo in 2012.
The DOST-DREAM Project started in late 2011 following the release of P 1.6B through the DAP funding mechanism. Thereafter, the DOST hydromet sensors development project also got funding in the amount of P150M to produce and install 1,000 hydromet sensor-equipment nationwide to boost the country’s flood warning capabilities.
A total of P425 million was disbursed to PAGASA under the Disbursement Acceleration Program.
P150M was allocated for the enhancement of the Doppler Radar Network for National Weather Watch, Accurate Forecasting and Flood Early Warning project.
The Doppler radars are capable of monitoring the rain clouds in specific areas for a particular time period. The rain clouds can be seen and measured in terms of the intensity and volume of precipitation or rain which leads to more accurate weather forecasting.
To date, there are 10 Doppler radars installed in strategically located areas in Subic, Baler, Baguio, Tagaytay, Cebu, Tampakan, Hinatuan, Virac, Aparri and Guiuan. Other radars to be installed next year will be in Quezon, Palawan and Basco, Batanes.
“We are confident that we will be able to deploy all Doppler radars in the country by 2014, which is two years ahead of our target in 2016 because of the accelerated funding,” the DOST-STII director stated.
The DOST aims to have a total of 15 Doppler radars operational to monitor weather conditions all over the Philippines.
Meanwhile, P275M is earmarked for the construction of the National Meteorological and Climate Center (NMCC).
The NMCC will be equipped with state-of-the-art information technology facilities that include research laboratories, weather and climate modeling hubs, a training center and an auditorium to hold symposia and seminars for enhancement of weather forecasting capability. The project is currently on its planning stages.
The DAP is a funding mechanism of the government that was implemented to ramp up spending on priority projects such as public works, agricultural infrastructure, housing relocation and resettlement, healthcare insurance and weather forecasting, among others, to spur economic growth and cushion the negative effects of recent calamities.
These funds came from the unused 2010 and 2011 appropriations. The President is authorized to augment any item in the general appropriations law for their respective offices from savings in other items of their respective appropriations under the Constitution, General Appropriations Act of 2011 and 2012, and the Administrative Code of 1987.