DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 22 April) — At least 30 early warning posts will be installed in the Davao Region this year to raise the efficiency of the local government units (LGUs) in disaster management, Mirasol Domingo, assisttant regional director of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) said.
Mirasol told MindaNews in an e-mail Saturday that at least five warnings posts will be installed in each province of the region — Davao del Sur, Davao del Norte, Davao Oriental, Compostela Valley, and Davao Occidental) and Davao City upon recommendation of their respective City and Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Offices.
“DOST 11 is also committed to provide innovative solutions in the aspect of DRR (disaster risk reduction), especially on the prevention and mitigation,” she said.
She added the DOST 11 will install the first warning post at the Samuel Village, Brgy.
Lizada, Toril on May 5 and will test it before it will be fully operational after the flood drill and information education campaign (IEC) scheduled on May 17 and 18.
She said the selection of the locations will be done based on the reliability of the phone signals and there should a hydro-meteorological device, or automated rain gauge and water level monitoring station in place within the vicinity of the river basin of the proposed site.
She said data that would be generated by the devices will be processed to determine the possibility of flooding.
Each warning post has a beacon, a siren, and a public address system that is audible within the 300-meter diameter based on the test conducted by the DOST-Advanced Science and Technology Institute, she said.
“The warning posts have four levels of warning. For each level, there is a corresponding sound that is then followed by a spoken instruction.
It can be manually triggered from the DRRM Office or on the warning post itself,” she said.
She added they are planning to integrate all early warning devices in the region, be they owned by the government or the private institution, to make the information accessible online.
RA 10121 or the “Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2010” encourages tlocal government units to use science-based tool towards efficient and effective disaster risk reduction and management with the aim to have safer communities.
She said the DOST maintains Project NOAH (Nationwide Operational Assessment and Hazards) and deploys early warning system such as the automated weather sensors, water level monitoring sensors, automated weather stations, and radar system. (Antonio L. Colina IV / MindaNews)
