Oro eyes high-tech warning system for flood prone areas
AIMING to have a hightech early flood and weather warning system, the Cagayan de Oro city government enters an agreement with the Department of Science and Technology and the Philippine Atmospheric Geological and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA).
The city forged a project with them called “Development of Early Warning System (DEWS) in Flood Prone Areas in the Philippines” now at work with committee on police, fire and public safety, but will soon be up for approval by the city councilors.
The DOST, in its statement, saw the need to support the establishment of an equipment and facility to provide real-time weather situation for Cagayan de Oro, which is known as a flood-prone city.
Once the proposed resolution will be approved, the city will be in-charge of the installation and operation of the weather monitoring equipment, particularly one unit of Automated Rain Gauge
(ARG), one unit of tandem (ARG+WLMS) and one unit of Water Level Monitoring System (WLMS).
The city will also identify the areas for the monitoring stations of the high-tech equipment.
Under the MOA, the city will provide labor augmentation needed for the installation of the said monitoring station.
It will also be the caretaker of the said equipment and be responsible to report to DOST-10, through the Provincial Science and Technology Center (PSTC-Misamis Oriental), any damage that may arise to the equipment.
In January, the city was hit by the worst flooding since typhoon Sendong in 2011, which prompted authorities to propose for early weather warning sytem instruments, particularly in rivers and tributaries.
Col. Verner Monsanto, consultant of the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Department (CDRRMD), said the project could help mitigate damages during the occurrence of natural disaster.
For a fact, the city is surrounded by at least seven water basins namely the Iponan River water basin, Cagayan de Oro river basin, Bigaan water basin, Cugman river water basin, Umalag river water basin, Umalag water basin, Agusan river basin, and Tagpuange river water basin, thus making it vulnerable to heavy flooding.