Ready for bad weather

The allocation of devices called all-weather stations in several Cebu local government units (LGUs) couldn’t have come at a better time as typhoon “Lawin” builds up.

So far heavy downpours have caused the death of two persons and swamped a village in Zamboanga City. The US weather bureau says it is now a certified supertyphoon although its path, so far, doesn’t include a direct hit of the Philippines.

These new weather devices will relay data through their website https://www.weather.com.ph/ and can help track the path of  “Lawin” and other tropical storms that may pass through Cebu and the rest of Central Visayas.

The devices were  provided by the Weather Philippines Foundation Inc., a non-profit corporation founded by Aboitiz Power, Unionbank and Metromedia as part of efforts to help detect storms and typhoons and give advance word to LGUs which can then take the necessary preparations to protect their constituents.

We don’t know whether these weather instruments are up to par with First World weather detection technology but at the very least, Cebu LGU recipients—the cities of Cebu, Mandaue, Talisay, Danao and Mandaue—can have another source of weather information aside from the state weather bureau Pagasa and Project Noah, a weather detection program under the Department of Science and Technology (DOST).

At least one company, the Visayan Electric Co. (Veco) said it would benefit them. The utility can schedule their operations like repairs and line work based on weather data sourced from these instruments.

With more information in  their hands, local officials down to the barangay level can help warn constituents to avoid being swept by floodwaters.

Weather detection is but part of the overall strategy for disaster preparedness and prevention. Spending for this costs less than building dikes to divert flood water or rescuing flood victims.

But LGUs like Cebu City and Mandaue City shouldn’t let up in their efforts to clear the riverbanks of settlers and implement  waste segregation  in communities.

There should be no pause in greening drives to plant more  trees in the uplands or to stop “kaingin” in farmlands.

With  wacky weather patterns defying historic trends, more aggressive steps should be taken to anticipate flooding.

Digging ponds and  building water catchments is an undervalued response.

With climate change and global warming as the new reality, disaster preparedness shoud be mainstream thinking.

Weather data now available at one’s fingertips should make us better able to sew up contingency plans and avoid loss of life and property.