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Automated rain gauge inaugurated in Atok,Benguet

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Philippines
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Govt. Philippines
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By Redjie Melvic M. Cawis

LA TRINIDAD, Benguet, Sept. 23(PIA) --A new automated rain gauge was (ARG) was inaugurated by the country’s weather bureau in partnership with the provincial government of Benguet and a telecom company in Barangay Caliking, Atok, Benguet, Thursday.

Dr. Nathaniel Servando, Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) administrator said that the ARG is an improvement in the services being delivered by Pagasa. It is a fully automated equipment that captures and delivers more accurate data faster.

He explained that the rainfall data monitoring that will be delivered by the ARG is important in the operation of all meteorological services.

The data gathered are utilized in the formulation of weather forecasting and warnings particularly floods and landslide incidents.

According to Flores, the rain gauges are fully automated and are capable of machine to machine communications. Smart’s network service powers these machines so Pagasa can access and retrieve crucial information anytime.

The rain gauges are interconnected through Smart SIM cards, allowing them to automatically transmit rainfall data gathered by their sensors as frequent as every 15 minutes, Flores.

Benguet Governor Nestor Fongwan welcomed this development saying said that the ARG will be very helpful particularly in the province that experiences more rain fall due to the climate change.

The ARG would help the Pagasa in determining the amount of rains in the province even without typhoons or weather disturbances.

Pagasa will give back the data to the local government units, local disaster risk reduction management councils, and agencies involved in disaster preparedness.

“This way, the authorities can give early warnings to the community and even to the farmers so that they would be prepared when extensive rains come, particularly those in low lying areas and landslide-prone areas,” Fongwan said.

Servando led the inauguration of the ARG with Smart Community Partnership unit head Darwin Flores representing Smart Communications, Department of Science and Technology - Benguet headed by Dr. Arnold Inumpa, and the municipal government of Atok led by Mayor Peter Alos.

Flores said that this is the fifth ARG installed in the region. Two are in Abra, one in Ifugao, and another one in Culbong in Atok. (JDP/RC- PIA CAR)