Iloilo to install rain gauges to boost disaster preparedness

By John Noel E. Herrera

With typhoons and even hours of heavy rain already affecting parts of Iloilo, the provincial government believed that installing weather monitoring systems or rain gauges would boost the towns’ disaster response and preparedness.

Iloilo Governor Arthur Defensor Jr. said they have already ordered the immediate installation of around 50 manual rain gauges in different strategic areas of the province to help residents and Local Government Units (LGUs) monitor their situation during typhoon or weather disturbances, which could lead to emergency situations.

Defensor also said that they still need to train the personnel for the manual operations of the rain gauges and stressed the importance of having committed barangay disaster responders as they will be assigned in mountainous areas.

“The advantage of manual rain gauges is that they can function even during a typhoon. Hindi mo siya kinahanglan nga may electricity, you don’t need signal. So, what we intend to do, we go back to the basics (of having) manual rain gauges and we identify the strategic points sa mountainous barangays, then we get committed disaster responders there sa ila,” he added.

The governor noted that with a manual rain gauge, the operator can relay the information to their LGU through the radio when they are experiencing heavy rain in their area.

“The PAGASA (Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical Astronomical Services Administration) has existing equipment which are scientific and high-technology equipment, but technology does not work sometimes if there is a typhoon,” Defensor said.

Defensor explained that they intended to distribute the 50 rain gauges in the province’s 42 municipalities and one component city, but they need to prioritize first those areas that are prone to flooding and landslides.

The installation of rain gauges is also anchored to Defensor’s Executive Order No. 334 or Bantay Ulan Project, which aimed to enhance the Early Warning System (EWS) for hydro-meteorological hazards affecting the province.

Last week, non-stop rains brought by a low-pressure area (LPA) near Neagros Island affected several provinces in Western Visayas, including Iloilo.

Data from the Office of Civil Defense (OCD)-6 indicated that a total of 6,616 families from Iloilo were affected by the LPA, while some small structures were damaged and other roads turned into rivers, which resulted in them being unpassable at that time.

Passi City even declared a state of calamity due to heavy rains which caused flooding and landslides in some areas.