WARNING DEVICE. Albay will soon have new rain gauges in every town, like this one in Isabela City, Basilan installed by the Department of Science and Technology. The instrument will collect data, especially on the volume of rain to help plan evacuation in case of flooding. (Photo courtesy of Isabela CDRRMO)
LEGAZPI CITY – Albay province is set to install rain gauges in every town for more precise warnings on landslides, floods, and lahar.
Cedric Daep, chief of the Albay Public Safety and Emergency Management Office, said Governor Al Francis Bichara has already approved the plan that will be carried out as early as this month.
“Governor Bichara quickly approved the idea when we suggested this during our meeting the other day,” Daep told the Philippine News Agency in an interview on Friday.
Daep said the existing rain gauges in strategic areas of Albay are already old and unreliable in feeding disaster officials the needed data.
“These rain gauges are the gadgets providing us important data whether the amount of rainfall at a given period could already trigger flooding, landslides or even mobilize lahar deposits at the slopes of Mayon Volcano,” he explained.
Daep said he will conduct seminar-workshops that would capacitate local officials and village responders on how to read and interpret data generated by the rain gauges.
“Foremost for them to understand are the thresholds that would tell what disasters might be triggered, such as landslides, floods or lahar flows. Then they could do local evacuations or any other precautionary measures,” he said.
For coastal areas, Daep said the strength of the prevailing winds is the basis of whether to order an evacuation or not.
When a weather disturbance is not expected to make landfall, he said the forecast impacts of rains and winds will be considered in the planning stage.
“For example, while Typhoon Bising is not forecast as of now to hit any land mass in the country, we are anticipating it to bring rains once it gets near Bicol or Eastern Visayas. So we have to brace for the worst case scenario that rains or winds could bring to us,” Daep added.
“Bising” was spotted 960 kilometers east of Surigao City, Surigao del Norte as of 11 a.m. Friday, according to state weather bureau PAGASA. (PNA)
