PAGASA to come out with better flood warnings

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) is working on a new location-specific flood early warning system to prevent another disaster similar to tropical storm “Sendong” from happening.

Science Secretary Mario Montejo said the DOST-PAGASA was tasked by President Aquino to come up with a new flood warning system wherein specific areas that could experience flooding during heavy rains would be identified.

He said the new flood warning system would also provide local authorities and communities the intensity of rainfall that could hit their areas.

“Instead of giving the public only the estimated volume of rainfall, the new flood advisory would also alert them how high the flood water will reach,” Montejo said in an interview with radio dzRH.

Montejo said a total of 1,000 automatic water level sensors will be installed nationwide this year.

The President has allocated some P150 million for the installation of automatic water level sensors to help forecasters in tracking river water levels and potential floods, he said.

Montejo said the instruments would be placed in 18 river basins throughout the country.

The DOST chief reported that since the 1980s, only five rivers in the country have been installed with water level sensors.

Sendong dumped heavy rains over Northern Mindanao and Central Visayas last December, triggering landslides and flashfloods that killed over a thousand people.

Montejo explained that the current storm warning signals of PAGASA focused on the potential damage of the storms’ strong winds. “But now, the damage would be due to rains rather than winds,” he said.