MMDA, DoST to install Metro flood warning system

A system initiated by the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) and the Department of Science and Technology (DoST) is expected to put in place a six-hour flood warning system in the metropolis aimed at preventing the loss of lives and property during destructive tropical storms and typhoons like “Ondoy” and “Pedring.”

A memorandum of agreement (MOA) signed by the two agencies Tuesday at the MMDA headquarters in Makati City specifies the installation of 38 water level sensors in watersheds and bridges and 18 automatic rain gauges around Metro Manila.

DoST Advanced Science and Technology Institute (Asti) director and engineer Dennis Villorente said the Efficient Flood Control Operation System (Efcos) is intended to gauge rising floodwaters in critical flood-prone areas throughout the country, starting  with Metro Manila.

“When Ondoy happened, the government realized that there is a need to further strengthen the monitoring system,” he said.

“The system calls for the installation of locally developed water level sensors, the collection of real-time data and archiving of this data so we can make an analysis later,” he added. “Right now the data is being collected every 10 minutes, and this is placed into a central server with a backup system.”

A third component of the system is the flood forecasting model currently being developed with the academe. The last is an on-line data visualization system to help  disaster managers in the different local government units.

Villorente said on-line visualization would give local government units an idea of how deep flood waters are in a certain area for them to make the necessary adjustments and decisions.

“The water level sensors are installed in a bridge across a river. There are also rain gauges installed in water shed areas. The data is sent through text message,” he said, adding that a backup system has been set up so data will continue to be transmitted and received at the central server.

“All data is collected, received and processed by the MMDA, and this is also shared with DoST and Pagasa,” Villorente said.

MMDA Chairman Francis Tolentino, for his part, said: “I hope we can craft a better mechanism to elevate the bar higher in terms of warning the people. Maybe there will come a time that the level of confidence among residents of Marikina, Pasig, those near the Tullahan River, Valenzuela, Malabon, Navotas will be extremely high so we will no longer see a recurrence of what happened in Cagayan de Oro or Iligan City.”

The MMDA chairman said he was also hoping they could learn from their experiences during Typhoons Pedring and Sendong, and getting the communities involved.

He added that he was looking forward to an institutionalized mechanism where the different agencies will work as one, emphasizing the difficulties faced by the MMDA, which has been solely tasked to formulate a mitigation and disaster risk reduction program.

DoST Secretary Mario Montejo said the project was in response to the need for a six-hour warning system before a flood can occur in communities along the major river systems, as pointed out by President Aquino.

“Most of the time, 60 percent of the floodwaters in Marikina come from watersheds, particularly from Wawa Dam; 40 percent is surface water surrounding Marikina,” he said, adding that the Efcos would immediately give the six-hour warning.

Montejo said the program will be replicated along the country’s 18 major river systems.

A water level sensor is estimated to cost P90,000, while an automatic rain gauge is priced at P35,000.