Difference between revisions of "Catanduanes Province, Philippines"

'''Doppler radar facility to benefit local studes'''

*Source: http://pia.gov.ph/news/index.php?menu=2&webregion=R05&article=841334732688

*By: Edna A. Bagadiong

*''April 19, 2012''

VIRAC, Catanduanes- Aside from providing forecasts with high degree of accuracy and boosting local tourism of the province, the now completed Doppler radar facility installed at Buenavista, Bato, Catanduanes is said to benefit students from private and public schools in the province.

Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) Virac Chief Meteorological officer Engr. Eufronio H. Garcia said the facility is beneficial to students as it adds knowledge in the field of Science and Technology.

“Students can relate subjects concerning meteorology, space or atmospheric, physical sciences and we can also provide information in electronics engineering," he said.

The official added that the facility can also serve as the students’ subject for research studies.

According to Garcia, they would also consider field trips in the area after the facility’s turnover to Pagasa and as long as the test and renovation of the old radar building is complete.

The Doppler radar in Bato town is one of the three state-of-the-art radar facility being built in the Philippines that uses the solid-state technology developed by Japanese engineers. It was brought to the country by the Japanese government through its grants-in-aid program.

The new S-band system, defined as standard for radio waves with frequencies ranging from 2 to 4 gigahertz, uses integrated chips that conveys electromagnetic waves as far as 420 kilometers (km) away to determine rainfall intensity and coverage, wind velocity and speed.

Its entire system is relatively easy to maintain with all-digital instrumentation so anyone who is accustomed with computers can operate it. This may especially be beneficial to students who are taking computer courses.

 

The 44-meter-tall radar tower built on top of a mountain in Buenavista is safe from landslides and can last for as long as 15 years. The thin fiberglass plates of the facility, can also withstand winds of up to 450 km per hour.

 

 

If fully operational, the radar facility will enable Pagasa to provide early warning to the local government units to suspend classes earlier than usual and to direct pre-emptive evacuation and avoid damages and casualties.

 

 

Two more Doppler radar systems of the same kind are now being installed by the Japanese-Filipino consortium in Guiuan, Samar province, and Aparri, Cagayan province.

 

 

Meanwhile, President Benigno Simeon Aquino III and other officials from Bicol Region – the country’s front door of typhoons are expected to grace the inauguration of the facility on April 27 .