Friday, July 04, 2008 Disaster plan requires quicker forecasts
INSTEAD of predicting weather every six hours, the weather bureau will now forecast conditions every two hours whenever there is a typhoon.
This is according to a Typhoon Preparedness in Disaster Management Plan approved by President Arroyo in her visit to Cebu last Wednesday.
Arroyo visited relatives of the passengers of the mv Princess of the Stars, a vessel that sank when it sailed during typhoon Frank. She then met with the Regional Disaster Coordinating Council (RDCC) to come up with a more efficient system in dealing with typhoons.
The plan is anchored on “a pro-active stance” in typhoon disaster management, rather than “a reactive response.”
The RDCC, in a resolution, said universal marine two-way radios should be installed in all passenger and fishing boats, regardless of tonnage. A vessel that does not have a two-way radio will not be registered under the Maritime Industry Authority (Marina).
The President also tasked the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pag-asa) to disseminate a weather bulletin every three hours when there is typhoon, instead of the present 6-hour interval between forecasts.
But a recommendation from the RDCC further narrowed down the gap to two hours.
Police Regional Office (PRO) 7 Chief Ronald Roderos said this move could be made possible with the arrival of a Doppler radar in Cebu next week. This will upgrade the present system from being just a monitoring center to a forecasting center.
The radar, Roderos said, can predict weather conditions as far as Mindanao.
However, soil tests still have to be conducted in Mactan before the radar can be installed.
The resolution also said that whenever typhoon signal number one is raised, the RDCC and the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) must immediately take action.
In typhoon situations, local government units (LGUs) may use 20 percent of calamity funds in advance.
The RDCC will then conduct a hazard assessment of flood-prone areas and communicate this to the public through radio, television and newspapers.
Basic commodities must be stocked and rescue units alerted.
Roderos, who currently heads the RDCC, said the resolution may already be implemented in Central Visayas. The council has furnished a copy to the Philippine Coast Guard for approval on a nationwide scale. (KAB)
