PAGASA gets P17M from AusAID for updated storm-forecasting technology
Philippine weather forecasters will soon have enhanced capability to map storm signals and surge inundation with a AusD455,500 (about P17 million) funding from the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID).
"As a regional neighbor and key development partner, Australia is helping improve the Philippines' preparedness to manage and respond to disasters and emergencies" with the grant, according to Australian Ambassador Rod Smith.
The assistance will be used by the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), benefiting from the tropical cyclone module technology of Australia's Bureau of Meteorology.
The Australian technology could allow forecasters to collect quality data with more sophisticated visual tools, allowing for earlier and more efficient warnings. Early warnings could better prepare emergency workers and threatened communities.
In granting the amount, Smith noted that "the poor are the most affected by natural disasters."
He said Australia works in partnership with the Philippine government, as well as other donors, international and local organizations, to address the impacts of these crises and disasters on vulnerable populations."
Australia is aware that PAGASA employs eight relatively outmoded numerical weather prediction models to track tropical cyclones and forecast their intensity.
As such, forecasters are hampered by their inability to interpret data, which, in turn, affect the speed and quality of their storm warnings.
Australia has granted close to AusD2.5 million (about P100 million) in humanitarian and emergency assistance to the Philippines in the past three years.
Located at the center of the world's typhoon belt, the Philippines was hit by seven typhoons this year alone--two of them, Cosme and Frank, being the major bones--causing about AusD197 million (P7.5 billion) in damages to agriculture and infrastructure, and taking scores of human lives and livestock. (PNA)