TAGUM CITY, Davao del Norte, May 30 (PIA) – Smart Communications and the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) launched in Tagum City yesterday (May 29) its co-location project of automatic rain gauge (ARG).
Smart Communications Community Partnerships Manager Nova Concepcion yesterday bared moves of the telecommunication company to do its first launching in Tagum City way ahead of the 62 other Smart cell sites installed with ARGs.
Concepcion counted the receptiveness of the local government unit of Tagum on disaster preparedness and the safe location of the ARG as reasons of the Tagum City first launching of the co-location project it had tied up with PAGASA.
In his speech read by Interior and Local Government City Director Liza Mendoza, Tagum City Mayor Rey T. Uy said the city government sets its direction towards attaining the standards of the Seal of Disaster Preparedness per instruction of DILG through Memorandum Circular 2012-79.
In an interview, Uy assured the safety of the weather monitoring equipment of PAGASA placed inside the perimeter of Smart cell site located along the national highway in Barangay Magdum, Tagum City.
“Walay manghilabot ana (No one can touch it),” he said.
Concepcion said the ARG co-location project with PAGASA formed part of Smart Communications’ corporate social responsibility which it extends to provide communication services even before, during and after a disaster occurrence.
Under the co-location agreement, Smart Communication committed to provide a space for the PAG-ASA automatic rain gauge and to ensure safety and maintenance of such weathering monitoring facility.
PAGASA weather specialist and chief of PAGASA Research and Development Esperanza Cayanan said that the ARG uses “Smart sim” to automatically transmit data to the PAGASA electronic server located at its head office in Manila.
The ARG helps PAGASA determine local rains situation.
Meanwhile, PAGASA Chief Meteorologist Gerry Pedrico of Davao PAGASA Station explained that the presence of more rain gauges substantially helps in coming up with more accurate data on rainfall amount.
“With more accurate data, we can come up with more accurate information for the public that would become the basis of their right action,” he said.
Aside from ARGs, PAGASA is also working with Smart Communications and with Advanced Science and Technology Institute (ASTI) to put up more automatic weather stations (AWS) designed to measure atmospheric pressure, wind speed, wind direction, relative humidity and rainfall intensity and amount.
Pedrico bared eight AWS in the Davao Region and these are located in Buda, Davao City; in 911 Davao City station; in Jose Abad Santos and Digos in Davao del Sur; Bangaga and in Mati Davao Oriental; at the PAGASA Davao Station; and in Nabunturan, Compostela Valley. (PIA-11/Jeanevive Duron-Abangan)
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