LOILO City – The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) has included the province of Iloilo as one of the recipients of the high-frequency coastal radar program for 2020.
The Phase 5 of PAGASA’s program identified the coastal municipalities of Concepcion and Carles in northern part of the province as the locations of the high-frequency coastal radar stations, said 4th District Board member Rolando Distura, who chairs the Sangguniang Panlalawigan committee on disaster risk reduction and management, in an interview on Thursday.
The proposed stations will connect to the station that will also be put up in Madridejos, Cebu.
“They will put up high-frequency coastal radar that will monitor and get information on the sea state- meaning the height of the wave, the temperature of the sea surface, the wind direction, and all these things. These are already included in the 2020 budget (of PAGASA),” he said.
Distura said northern Iloilo is also surrounded by the Visayan Sea, which sees “many sea activities.” “There are a lot of fishing vessels there. We can use the coastal radars for our decision-making and policy-making,” he said.
The radar will serve as a guide for the province to identify the part of the coast that is fitted for establishing ports and areas that are safe in times of typhoons, among others.
“We are not asking for sea mishaps, but when it happens, the radar can help us locate sea vessels,” Distura said.
Western Visayas currently has two coastal radar stations from PAGASA located in Bacolod and Silay cities in Negros Occidental. The radar units can cover the seas in Dumangas to Banate towns in the fourth district of Iloilo.
Distura said the province is grateful for the attention of the national government in forwarding disaster resilience in Iloilo.
He said PAGASA is on its pre-procurement phase and the instrument will be installed next year.
The local government’s counterpart, meanwhile, is the identification of the ideal location for the instruments and its manpower to maintain the radar and the site’s cleanliness. (With a report from PNA/PN)
