Iloilo Governor Arthur Defensor Jr. has ordered the immediate installation of 50 manual rain gauges in strategic areas for faster weather monitoring. Defensor, in an interview Friday, said they only have to identify strategic areas and involve committed barangay disaster responders or personnel to be trained for the manual operations. ‘The advantage(s) of manual rain gauges (they) can function even during a typhoon. You don’t need electricity, you don’t need a signal. What we intend to do and we already have it, we go back to the basics, manual rain gauge,’ he said. The governor added that with a manual rain gauge, the operator would have to relay the information to their local government through a radio if they are experiencing heavy rains in their area. ‘PAG-ASA (Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical Astronomical Services Administration) has existing equipment; they are scientific and high-technology equipment. But technology does not work sometimes if there is a typhoon,’ he added. The 50 rain gauges will be distributed in the province’s 42 municipalities and one component city but those with highlands will be prioritized. In a press conference on Thursday, the governor said heavy rains experienced in mountainous barangays of central Iloilo bordering Capiz province caused the flooding that passed through several municipalities in the province’s fourth, third, and second districts before exiting to the Iloilo-Guimaras Strait. A report from the Office of the Civil Defense showed that aside from flooding, Iloilo has reported 15 rain-induced landslides and six destroyed houses due to heavy rains and flooding.

Source: Philippines News Agency