Published in 2007
PAG-ASA acquires new weather doppler radars
GETTING reactive over the series of misfortunes the country experienced with the typhoons that displaced families and stirred communities this week, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo directed the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) to fast track the purchase of two Doppler radars.
The equipment is hoped to keep weather trackers a step ahead of disasters brought about by typhoons and other weather disturbances.
In her statement, the President said the Doppler radars could enhance the weather forecasting capability of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa).
“Being a climate taker than a climate maker, we cannot prevent disaster but certainly we can undertake adaptation measures to prevent the loss of lives and reduce damage to property,†she said.
She added that the country is suffering pangs of the global warming arising from extreme weather abnormalities as typhoons.
To make strategic areas in the country prepare from any approaching calamities, she said one of the Doppler radars would be based in South Cotabato while the other would be established in Cebu. These should also service the weather forecasting requirements of Iligan City and other parts of the country.
The move came after the DOST which has the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration in its keeps bore the blunt of criticism when storm Lando hit the country Monday.
The government weather bureau was harshly criticized for apparent incapacity to do its mandate of giving out exact weather forecasts.
In Iligan, eleven persons were reported killed and millions of pesos worth of properties, agricultural and livestock products, were destroyed by the typhoon.
In Bohol too, residents of four island barangays in President Garcia Bohol were displaced when a tornado partially destroyed 83 houses and crops Wednesday.
As Boholanos tracked the storm damage from the radio, questions raised during inter-actions were thrown to the government weather bureau for their apparent incapacity to forecast due to lack of the right equipment.
The President’s direction also included an announcement on the government allocation of P6 million as counterpart to the calamity fund of the local government unit (LGU).(rachiu/PIA)
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