Pagasa installs new automated weather stations

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) has installed several new automated weather stations (AWS) in some parts of the country in preparation for the rainy season.

These weather stations were put up in four barangays in Bacolod and Iloilo and in two barangays in Jolo, Sulu.

Science and Technology Secretary Mario Montejo said these stations play a critical role in hazard mitigation, particularly during typhoons and floods.

“This equipment will help the country save lives and property,” he said.

An AWS was established at the Agro-Meteorological Garden of the Department of Agriculture-Regional Office Field Unit VI in Jaro, Iloilo.

The instruments were also deployed in Barangay Felisa in Bacolod City, while rain gauges were installed in Barangays Tangub, Estefania and Alangilan.

Automated weather stations are stand-alone devices that measure weather-related indicators and transmit data from remote areas to the PAGASA head office in Quezon City on real-time basis.

Meanwhile, the DOST office in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao has installed an automatic rain gauge and water level monitoring station at the Walled City municipal hall grounds and San Raymundo port area in Jolo, respectively.

DOST-Region 8 director Rowen Gelonga said the agency will install more AWS in Aklan, Capiz and Negros Occidental.

“Water level stations will also be deployed to get real-time assessment of flood threats,” he said.

These modern weather tracking devices were developed under the Development of Hybrid Weather Monitoring System and Production of Weather and Rain Automated Stations Project jointly implemented by PAGASA and the Advanced Science and Technology Institute, both attached agencies of the DOST.

The Philippines sits astride the typhoon belt and suffers an annual onslaught of dangerous storms from July to October.

In a related development, the DOST’s Science Education Institute will train a total of 360 teachers and students nationwide on disaster preparedness.

SEI officer-in-charge Leticia Catris said 150 teachers from all over the country will undergo a trainers’ training on disaster preparedness this summer to enhance their capability to educate students on how to cope with natural disasters.

The training will be conducted at the Visayas State University in Baybay, Leyte; Mariano Marcos State University in Laoag, Ilocos Norte; Central Luzon State University in Science City of Muñoz, Nueva Ecija; and Bicol University in Legazpi, Albay.

Catris said the training aims to enhance the teachers’ knowledge about disasters like typhoons, earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanic eruptions and how to effectively implement a disaster management plan.

“The knowledge and training gained by our teachers may be effectively tapped in times of calamities whether in school, the home or the community in order to minimize, if not eliminate destruction to lives and properties,” Catris said.

The SEI has developed learning modules on disaster preparedness for students where they learn about volcanoes, earthquakes, tsunamis and the weather.

“We want our students to appreciate the need to be always alert and ready in times of natural disasters. They are the most vulnerable when these happen and we want them to learn the science behind these phenomena,” Catris said.