Villagers rely on rain gauges

STORM-PRONE BICOL NO longer has a weather radar, but disaster officials in Albay are pinning their hopes on small and simple rain gauges to save lives.

At least 13 digital rain gauges have been installed in seven towns and two cities of the province, and 12 more are coming, courtesy of the Social Action Center of the Archdiocese of Legazpi.

Cedric Daep, executive officer of the Provincial Disaster Coordinating Council, said early warning devices would also be given to communities so that information could be relayed fast to the residents.

Disaster officials have been trained to interpret data from the wired rain gauges, which cost almost P7,000 each and placed in municipal halls. The gauges can detect possible landslides, lahar and flooding through a criteria carefully devised by the PDCC.

When the device records rainfall of 1 millimeter per minute, mudflows from Mayon Volcano are likely to occur, Daep said. A 7.2 mm-per-hour rainfall could mean heavy flooding, especially in low-lying areas.

Daep explained that the criteria were based on localized conditions and might not be applicable to other provinces. “We will be testing this system for three years until such time we have perfected the accuracy of our formulated criteria (for data interpretation),” he said.

Since the multimillion-peso weather radar in Catanduanes was destroyed between the late 1980s and the early 1990s, disaster officials have difficulty predicting rain conditions, Daep said.

Moreover, the public storm warning signals being issued by the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) pertain more to wind conditions, he said.

But Albay is not only vulnerable to strong winds but also to rain-related hazards, like lahar, flooding and landslides, Daep said.

Instead of the people waiting for disaster warnings from the national level, he said, the communities could generate real-time warnings. “Through this system, warning information can be conveyed outright to the affected population,” Daep said.

Readings from the rain gauges have equivalent stages in disaster management, such as alert, preparedness and evacuation levels. Since local conditions can be defined, village officials can order an evacuation and will just have to inform the municipal government and the PDCC for support, Daep said.

The council, however, will still inform local government units of general warnings from national agencies, such as Pagasa.

Updated reports from the PDCC show that lahar risk is high in 28 villages in four towns and one city in Albay. A total of 106 villages, zones and streets in 10 towns and two cities have landslide-prone areas, while 356 villages, zones and streets in 13 towns and three cities have flood-prone areas. Ephraim Aguilar