Rural folk are better prepared for storms

Interior Secretary Mar Roxas: Keep calm. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines–Even rural folk are now more prepared for disasters with their own solar-powered weather stations.

The Department of the Interior and Local Government has commended the League of Provinces of the Philippines (LPP) for installing automated weather stations (AWS) in provinces all over the country.

The solar-powered AWS is a device that tracks weather disturbances passing through a certain locality or province.

The LPP and the Weather Philippines Foundation, a nongovernmental organization, set up more than 400 free AWS which are capable of tracking wind direction and measuring velocity, air pressure and temperature.

Interior Secretary Mar Roxas urged provincial officials to participate in communications trainings to be able to fully utilize the AWS system.

“This will complement, and not compete with, the official weather forecasts of the state weather bureau,” he said, referring to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration.

Roxas, who is also vice chair for disaster response of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, pointed out that the AWS would help provincial governments be more disaster-aware and prepared.

“Strong typhoons are now the new normal and having accurate and localized weather forecast is certainly vital. Such information can give ample time to provinces to prepare and prevent further loss of lives and properties,” he said.