Aquino pledges full gov't support for 'Project NOAH'

By Jerome Carlo R. Paunan

Friday 6th of July 2012

MARIKINA CITY, July 6 (PIA) -- President Benigno S. Aquino III on Friday vowed his administration's full support for "Project NOAH," a Filipino-made geohazard mapping tool for disaster and risk mitigation.

The President assured the public that before the end of 2013, government will have installed no less than 600 automatic rain gauges and 400 water level monitoring station along 18 major river channels across the country, that include the Marikina River, Cagayan de Oro River and Iligan River, among others.

"At ngayon pong nailunsad na ang Project NOAH, tiwala tayong madadagdagan pa at mapapabuti ang ating mga kasangkapan at kagamitan. Ang target po ng DOST: animnaraang locally-produced automated rain gauges at apatnaraang water level monitoring sensors ang maipakabit sa mga piling lokasyon sa iba’t ibang bahagi ng bansa bago matapos ang 2013," P-Noy said, during the launching of the project in Barangay Nangka, Marikina City, .

(Now that we have launched Project NOAH, we are confident that we can improve on our existing equipment and technologies. The Department of Science and Technology is targeting the installation of at least 600 locally-produced automated rain gauges and 400 water level monitoring sensors along key areas in various parts of the country before the end of 2013.)

Project NOAH or the Nationwide Operational Assessment of Hazards is a pilot project of the DOST in cooperation with other national and local government agencies, private corporations, socio-civic organizations, the academe and other stakeholders.

The internet-based portal, which can be accessed by the public through the DOST website (noah.dost.gov.ph), provides a real-time and color-coded geohazard map, which is capable of warning stakeholders with a six-hour lead time against floods, among others.

Likewise, Mr. Aquino said government is set to build additional Doppler radars in vital spots of the country.

"Tatlong karagdagang Doppler weather radars naman ang inaasahan nating maging operational sa Tampakan, Aparri, at Baler bago matapos ang 2012," he said.

(We are expecting three additional Doppler Weather radars in Tampakan, Aparri, and Baler to be operational before the end of 2012.)

In a statement provided by DOST, the agency said the Doppler radars are useful in determining the rainfall volume in clouds, especially important during the event of tropical cyclones. However, with added modifications such as the installation of radio frequency analog front end and radar processors, these state-of-the-art equipment will be capable of measuring tidal height, wind velocity and ocean movement in order to update or warn sea-going vessels.

These hi-tech equipment will be added to the current six Doppler radar stations operating in Baguio, Subic, Tagaytay, Virac, Mactan, and Hinatuan.

For his part, Science and Technology Secretary Mario Montejo said that with these instruments--along with the Project NOAH tool--local government officials, industries and the public can have a longer lead time to decide and implement preventive measures during weather-related events.

"Sa ilalim po ng Project NOAH, mapapabuti at mapagsasama-sama na natin ang lahat ng akma at napapanahong impormasyong kailangan sa kalamidad. Ang lahat po ng ito, magbibigay-lakas sa operasyon ng ating mga ahensiya tuwing nagbabadya ang malakas na ulan at pagbaha. Ngayon po, wala nang kanya-kanya, at pinagsanib-pwersa at pinag-isa na ang ating mga inisyatiba para mapaghandaan ang sakuna," the President said.

(Under Project NOAH, we can now improve and collate all useful and relevant information we could use during calamities. All of these tools can also strenghten our agencies' resolve to operate every time we are threatened by strong rains and flash floods. Today there is synergy among us as all our initiatives are united to prepare us against disasters.) (RJB/JCP-PIA NCR)