Iloilo’s first automated weather station installed; 9 more coming
Climate
change brings with it unpredictable weather patterns and stronger typhoons,
thus disaster preparedness is very important if one wants to prevent the loss of lives.
One
solution is an automated weather station (AWS). An AWS is an automated kind of traditional
weather station that records weather conditions, wind speed and direction, air
temperature, rainfall and humidity, among others.
Shell
Philippines and Manila Observatory, with the support of Smart Communications will
operate 50 of these in the country, with 10 located in the province of Iloilo.
Their
Iloilo locations are Shell’s gasoline stations in Brgy. San Rafael in
Mandurriao, Brgy. Tagbak, Lapuz Depot, Villa, all in Iloilo City; Passi,
Poblacion Ilawod in Lambunao, Aquino Nobleza Street in Janiuay, Brgy. Bolong
Oeste in Sta. Barbara and Pavia.
Shell
will provide the location, its shell stations; Manila Observatory will provide
the weather and climate analysis of the data gathered from the AWS network while
connectivity of the data transmission will be provided by Smart. The data will
be used by the local government units in their disaster preparedness and
resiliency efforts.
Manila
Observatory Executive Director Tony Loyzaga said that this partnership aims to provide
coastal cities with access to weather and climate analysis and help them in
their disaster preparedness efforts.
The
150-year-old Manila Observatory engages in research on remove sensing and
ground-based environmental observation and monitoring; climate change,
variability and extremes; disaster risk and sustainable development; and public
health and human vulnerability.
Debbie
Tan, head of Investor Relations and Group Enterprise Risk Management of Smart
Communications, revealed that the collaboration started in the year 2013. “What
we are launching today is that,” she said during the project’s launching
ceremony held last May 27, 2015 at the Shell station in Brgy. Rafael where the
first AWS was also installed.
“We
in Smart know too well the effects of climate change – damaged infrastructure.
At Smart, we have embraced disaster preparedness as a way of life,” she added.
Iloilo
City’s Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog welcomed this initiative on climate change
resilience because “with an automated weather station, data would be available to
everyone through the internet, thus we would know our situation. We are always
threatened (by disasters) and AWS can prepare us,” he said.
He
revealed that the Iloilo City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office
(ICDRRMO) will have a building in Brgy. Dungon A in Jaro district. He said that
if an AWS will also be placed there, it would be more advantageous. Because of
this, Shell pledged to donate another AWS to the command center.
After
Iloilo City, Shell will install automated weather stations in Davao City and Cagayan
de Oro City in Mindanao.
The
first AWS was installed in Shell's Pandacan depot in August 2014. (Marie
Katherine Villalon)
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