A nonprofit organization is spearheading the installations of an estimated 1,000 automated weather stations (AWS) all over the country that would allow local government unit (LGU) officials to read with accuracy of coming weather disturbances affecting their communities, organize and plan how to deal with the expected consequences. Weather Philippines Foundation (WPF) General Manager Celso Caballero III said the firm he heads started in 2012, following the devastation of Typhoon Ondoy (international code name Ketsana), the second most devastating tropical cyclone in 2009 that left 747 dead. The WPF has put up 636 stations and hopes to install a total of 750 by the end of this year. The 1,000 target would be in place in mid-2015.
“With free, accurate and localized weather information, WFP takes the lead in overcoming weather disruption by inciting readiness among our countrymen,” Caballero said during a recent press briefing.
He said by deploying the AWS in remote areas in the country, they would be able to penetrate the most vulnerable areas and obtain actionable preparations by distilling technical weather-forecasting terms into one they can fully grasp. He said that with the help of professional meteorologists, they were able to train mayors and municipal disaster-risk reduction officers all over the country.
The LGU officials were taught how to install weather stations and access the processed weather information via the WPF’s web site: weather.com.ph.
With their newfound knowledge, LGU officials are now empowered toward and advocacy of proactive disaster-preparedness and climate-change adaptation, Caballero added.
The WPF deals with informing the public, educating them about the risks, and encouraging them to adapt weather as a planning tool in their business, he said. To spread its gospel, the WPF will lead a conference on sustainability, business continuity and weather vulnerability and disruptions, entitled “Building a WeatherWiser Nation.”
“This is a conference, that will discuss why the true measure of a nation’s weather resilience is business and life continuity,” Caballero said, adding that weather preparedness has to be more sustainable and the locals should be able to respond as if weather is part of its lives and can be seen as significant factor in planning the groundwork of our livelihood. The conference to be held at the Blue Leaf Pavilion, Fort Bonifactio Global City, is on November 25.
The WPF said it will give people a chance to learn from leaders who can potentially champion weather-related initiatives and convey the effects of the new normal to the sectors in tourism, agriculture, food, and agri-fishery, architecture, finance, product insurance and energy.