Smart Schools take part in local weather monitoring

Typhoon Reming that caused destruction and death in Albay, November 2006; the Guinsaugon tragedy that buried an entire barangay in Southern Leyte, February 2006; the devastating landslide in Quezon, December 2000…     

Typhoons and other rain-instigated natural calamities can lead to loss in lives, properties and livelihood. With a country hard hit by tropical storms and climate change prompting extreme weather occurrences, it is best to be prepared and constantly aware of what’s happening around us.

Public high schools in some of the country’s most hazard-prone areas are endeavoring to do just that. Through Project Rain Gauge, the schools are actively taking part in local weather monitoring by measuring the amount of rainfall in their respective communities. 

Smart Communications, which continues to apply its core competency of providing communication for causes that support disaster preparedness in the country, is spearheading the project in partnership with Manila Observatory’s KLIMA Climate Change Center, and in cooperation with the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) and the Department of Education. 

“We are connecting the schools with agencies they can work with in generating a database that will not only serve as valuable information to the Manila Observatory and PAGASA, but also to the schools and their respective communities,” says Ramon Isberto, head of Smart’s Public Affairs Group.    

Seventeen partner schools under the Smart Schools Program make up the project test group — Baler National High School in Baler, Aurora; Paril NHS in Cebu City; Monkayo NHS in Compostela Valley; Paaralang Sekondarya ng Hen. Nakar in Quezon province; New Ormoc City NHS in Ormoc City, Leyte; Ramon Avancena NHS in Iloilo City; Davao Sped in Davao City; Baguio City NHS; San Miguel NHS in Bulacan; Lusaran NHS in Cebu City; Gallanosa NHS in Irosin, Sorsogon; Cagayan NHS in Tuguegarao City; Naga Science HS in Naga City, Camarines Sur; San Juan NHS in Southern Leyte; Ligao NHS in Ligao City, Albay; Tabaco NHS in Tabaco City, Albay; and Sagada NHS in Sagada, Mt. Province.

Math and science teachers representing the schools recently attended a rainfall monitoring workshop at the Manila Observatory. Through exercises, they learned the proper way to do rain gauge reading and data collection and recording.

Resource persons from the Manila Observatory, KLIMA and PAGASA briefed them on climate change, rainfall monitoring uses and methods, climate modeling and forecasting, rain gauge monitoring protocol, importance of local weather monitoring, and disaster risk management.

Workshop

The one-day workshop prepared them for the task of maintaining a rain gauge provided by Smart within their respective school grounds. Data gathered from daily monitoring of collected rainfall are forwarded to KLIMA via the Project Rain Gauge website. www

“We are providing technical assistance to the project in terms of instrumentation, rainfall monitoring and archiving. The rainfall monitoring will follow the procedures for rainfall observation for non-recording standard rain gauge defined by the flood forecasting branch of PAGASA. Rainfall data will later on be used in local climate forecasting and modeling and predicting events such as floods and droughts in their respective communities. Data accumulated from the project are posted on a website where anybody can access the information,” says Marina Mallare, project coordinator of Manila Observatory.

“The rainfall data submitted by the schools can be plotted on a big map which has geographic coordinates. That way, we can establish trends and patterns of rainfall distributed over the map of the country in relation to the locations of the schools and the populations around them,” explains Toni Loyzaga, executive director of Manila Observatory.       

The information will especially be useful to PAGASA, the country’s weather bureau with a mandate to provide protection against natural calamities and utilize scientific knowledge as an effective instrument to ensure the safety, well-being and economic security of the population, and to promote national progress.

“This is a very good undertaking. It will certainly fill the gaps for rainfall data because we only have 58 regular weather stations. There are provinces where we do not have any station at all,” says Dr. Prisco Nilo, PAGASA deputy director for operations and services. 

“There are many uses for the data. They can be used for early warning purposes, for climate study purposes in relation to climate change, and for agriculture purposes and other related applications,” Nilo added.

Project Rain Gauge’s long-term goal is to create a network of ground stations across the country via Smart Schools and other interested community groups and to provide supplementary data on local rainfall measurement in specific areas.

Rainfall observation

Rainfall observation per area is especially significant in the Philippines because of the country’s mountainous terrains and islands. Satellite mapping does not capture details. Fine-scale rainfall patterns necessary to describe local climate are best determined with the use of manual monitoring devices like the rain gauge. 

As pointed out by CP David of the University of the Philippines, “Community-based monitoring is more accurate for specific places. Our weather system is very complex that we can only do prediction when we do very local weather monitoring. Even hazard mitigation should be localized. Since rain can bring landslides, flood and other hazards, we should keep in mind the level of precipitation that may trigger hazards in our areas.”

Traumatized by the Ormoc City flash flood of 1991, physics instructor Alice Calibo of New Ormoc City NHS says, “I still get scared every time it rains. This project gives us a fighting chance by arming us with knowledge on rainfall monitoring and measurement. We would at least know when water volume has reached a dangerous level, and warn the rest of our townmates.”

Norma Palma, chemistry and physics teacher at Southern Leyte’s San Juan NHS, agrees that information gives them some control over the situation. With the Guinsaugon tragedy serving as a grim reminder, she now knows that vigilance may be the one key to survival.

“Our school is near a mountain where a lake is located. We should be watchful because rain can cause the lake to overflow and trigger a landslide,” she says. 

The active Mt. Bulusan similarly requires the people of Irosin in Sorsogon to be on the alert. Gallanosa NHS, which serves as an evacuation center, is ready to extend further assistance. 

“We can utilize our school’s link to the National Disaster Coordinating Council to maximize the benefits of the project in our community,” says science teacher Jose Hugo.

Carlo Magno Pamorada of Ligao NHS in Albay, says the project is a great help to their town that’s hard hit by typhoons. “We can do information dissemination in our community and involve even the parents, NGOs and student government organizations while our students will learn things like reading the rain gauge,” says the biology teacher.

By involving the students in a scientific method of measuring rainfall, the project also aims to educate the youth. Teachers, on the other hand, get an opportunity to use their knowledge for the advancement of a worthy cause.

“As a science teacher, I am very much aware of the impact of what is happening around us. I believe it is important to educate the young people on the effects of climate change for them to appreciate the importance and relevance of measuring climate data,” says Edna Casalmir of Iloilo’s Ramon Avanceña NHS.

Project Rain Gauge is currently on its initial run. 

“This rainy season serves as a test for the schools. The challenge is to master rainfall monitoring using the single rain gauge they are each assigned to maintain. By working together and learning from the experience, we can hopefully scale up to the other schools by next year,” says Darwin Flores, community partnerships senior manager of Smart.