DOST chief says facilities for disaster monitoring have improved

The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) has improved its facilities for early warning and monitoring of disasters such as tropical cyclones and earthquakes.

In a pre-State of the Nation Address (SONA) forum on Wednesday, DOST Secretary Fortunato dela Peña said the department ahs set up more equipment and installed additional facilities.

“We have installed the additional Doppler radars for tropical cyclone and rain monitoring, and high-frequency Doppler radars for sea waves monitoring as well as flood forecasting and warning systems,” he said.

Dela Peña said DOST has added one Doppler radar, 12 high-frequency Doppler radars, and five flood forecasting and warning systems.

Aside from this, he said researchers from state weather bureau PAGASA have developed a new method to predict tropical cyclones earlier.

“This method provides information on the possible occurrence of tropical cyclone and its path and trajectory five to 16 days in advance,” he said.

Dela Peña also highlighted the creation of GeoRisk PH that assesses disaster risk and detects natural hazards through web applications.

The project was led by PAGASA, Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS), and Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB).

“We continuously expanded our Philippine Seismic Network through the commissioning of additional satellite-telemetered seismic stations,” he said.

From 28 in 2017, Dela Peña said they now have 104 seismic stations.

According to him, these stations can detect small earthquakes in magnitude 3. He noted that these can help track sites that can produce more damaging earthquakes. —KBK, GMA News