Oro gov't ensures to boost disaster monitoring

• Source:http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cagayan-de-oro/local-news/2016/01/19/oro-govt-ensures-boost-disaster-monitoring-452654
• Tuesday, January 19, 2016

By Pamela Jay F. Orias, Jigger J. Jerusalem

THE City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO) in Cagayan de Oro City has taken its mission to a new level as it joined on Tuesday in a forum to learn the operational ways of its new forecasting and warning system.

Through the Northern Mindanao Project (NMP), an undertaking hatched by National Disaster Management Institute (NDMI) in partnership with the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services (Pagasa) and the CDRRMO, a number of apparatuses programmed to warn the city’s communities of any impending flashfloods had been installed in various areas.

The Korean Government has helped the city fend off floods since 2014 when it donated Intelligence Closed Circuit Television Camera (CCTV) with a remote controlled boat, rain gauge and alarm monitoring system.

“This [project] strengthens our relationship with South Korea, a relationship that has grown stronger, not only at the national level but also at the local level,” Moreno said in an interview at the sidelines of the commencement of operationalization of two weather-monitoring systems held in the city on Tuesday.

The third phase of the NMP, Moreno said, will integrate all of the city’s weather-related surveillance of flood, water, rainfall levels that would warn residents living near the river to move to safer ground.

“Before we had so many projects happening at the same time concurrently, and now this program, this project gives us a good opportunity to consolidate all of them so that we can make use all of them and put them in appropriate locations. In other words, maximization of resources is allowed and resource allocation is also made possible,” Moreno added.

In 2013, FFAS and ARWS were put up, respectively, at the Pagasa weather station in Barangay Molugan, El Salvador City, and at strategic areas along the river and at the city hall.

This year, another set of flashflood alert system (FFAS) and automatic rainfall warning system (ARWS) were installed in Cagayan de Oro and Iponan river basins.

Doctor Chichun Lee, NDMI principal researcher, said the flashflood alert system is a 24/7 monitoring system designed to forecast the flashflood through the use of real-time data and hydraulic-hydrological analysis in target areas.

The FFAS is a 24-hour monitoring mechanism that forecasts flash flood and disseminates warning based on hydraulic-hydrological analysis in target areas, while the ARWS is a real-time set of devices that aids in facilitating the evacuation of residents giving them enough time to move out before a flash flood could occur, according to the NDMI.

The ARWS, on the other hand, is also a real-time based system which includes rain gauge, water level gauge, and warning post to secure evacuation time before a flashflood would occur.

"With these new systems, the city can now issue warning of flashflood, expected to help the public evacuate efficiently," Lee said.

Last year, the FFAS went through its advancement stage as ARWS for the Cagayan de Oro and Iponan rivers were integrated.

CDRRMO weather monitoring chief Vergil Lago said Cagayan de Oro is the only city in Mindanao chosen by the NDMI to boost its disaster monitoring capabilities.

"Because of typhoon Sendong gayud ni, nakita nila kung unsa ang damage na nabuhat niatong bagyo sa dakbayan, so we are very blessed," Lago said.

Immediately after Sendong in 2011, the NDMI sent a group of experts to the affected areas to join an international joint damage investigation group.

Dr. Vicente Malano, Pagasa acting administrator, said water level gauging station and other facilities are also being put in place in Bukidnon so that any rise of water in the upstream area would immediately be relayed to the CDRRMO for appropriate action.

Anianita Fortich, Pagasa-Mindanao weather specialist, said the role of the state’s weather bureau is to issue a warning while the CDRRMO is charged with disaster response and rescue.

Dr. Keumho Oh, division head of NDMI’s Disaster Prevention Research Division, said he hopes the instruments donated to the city would last a long time so they could be used to reduce the risks and casualties during disasters.

Since 2005, South Korea has played an active role in disaster mitigation sitting as one of the countries involved in the Typhoon Committee’s disaster prevention subcommittee.