Iloilo braces for ‘Project Noah’

THE city and province of Iloilo will be covered by Project Noah, an initiative of the weather bureau to intensify flood forecasting and warning services to the public during strong typhoons.

Project Noah or Nationwide Operational Assessment of Hazards was launched last Friday in Metro Manila. The project is spearheaded by the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa).

Pagasa Administrator Dr. Nathaniel Servando announced the project last week while he was in Iloilo City as guest of the month-long celebration of the National Disaster Consciousness Month (NDCM) in Western Visayas.

Servando noted the devastation brought about by Tyhooon Frank in 2008 in the city and province of Iloilo due to lack of information on floods.

Under the Project Noah, Pagasa will closely collaborate with the Department of Science and Technology and the University of the Philippines-Diliman to integrate some of the informational data from radar and Automated Weather Station (AWS) data.

More AWS, Automated Rain Gauges and water level measuring stations are to be installed in 18 major river basins in the country including Jalaur River Basin of Iloilo, Panay River Basin of Capiz and Ilog-Hilabangan of Negros Occidental in the region.

The project has eight components, namely Hydro met Sensors Development, DREAM-LIDAR 3-D Mapping Project, Flood NET-Flood Modeling Project, Hazards Information Media, Enhancing Geo-hazards mapping through LIDAR, Doppler System Development, Landslide Sensors Development Project, and Storm Surge Inundation Mapping Project. (Lydia C. Pendon)