TABUK CITY, Kalinga – This city pilots the installation of flood warning stations in the region having been identified as a high risk area in terms of flood incidents.
Said technology was designed by the Advanced Science and Technology Institute (ASTI) through the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) of the Department of Science and Technology and Communications (DOTC).
PAGASA Senior Weather Specialist Oscar D. Cruz said the devices under the Deployment of Early Warning System (DEWS) of PAGASA were being distributed nationwide to guide high risk communities with the proper steps during flood incidents.
During the flood drill conducted by the city government at Barangay Dagupan Weste, Cruz and his crew tested the warning devices installed in the area. The warnings he said were broadcasted as expected which consist of a siren followed by an instruction for the communities to respond.
“The device is designed to provide three warning stages which is ‘alert, alarm and critical’, and during each stage, the public will be told what to do. If the flood subsides, then it will sound the ‘receding’ sound which means the flood receded for the public to know it is safe to go back home,” he explains.
Aside from providing reliable, timely and accurate forecasts, the warning stations according to Cruz also functions as automatic rain gauge. Personnel from the CDRRM, he said, will be trained to assess and monitor the data gathered by the warning stations and water level sensors to provide them sufficient data to decide what steps to undertake.
The siren according to Cruz has a range of 200 meters during the day and 250 meters at night. In case some areas could not hear the siren, it is the responsibility of those manning the station to strategize the delivery of warning information in their areas of responsibility, he said.
Based on an assessment conducted by the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, DOST granted five warning stations and a water elevation measurement device installed at the Pasonglao Bridge. Three of the warning stations were already installed in barangays Cabaruan, Dagupan Weste and Laya West. The other two are set to be installed in Sitio Tuliao in Calanan and San Juan.
The City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council in partnership with DOST-CAR, DOST-PAGASA and the Kalinga PDRRMC conducted a Flood Evacuation Drill at Barangay Dagupan Weste last October 13, 2017 piloting said activity in the region. This aims to train the communities on the proper steps to undertake during flood incidents to safe evacuation sites. DRRM officials around the region also came to observe the execution of the drill.
Located along the Chico River, said five barangays were among those heavily affected with the sudden swelling of the river during heavy rains and typhoons. **Geraldine G. Dumallig, Tabuk City Information Office)
