One of the anchors of the country’s disaster risk reduction and management (drrmo) is Project NOAH. Learning the lessons brought about by Storm Ondoy in 2009, there was a need for a more accurate forecast of the weather. It was no longer enough to be able to measure the strength of the wind as before. It became imperative that a better and more accurate method of not only gauging the winds but also for predicting the amount of rain that will occur within a specific time period and the exact place where the rain is expected.
NOAH (Nationwide Operational Assessment of Hazards) was a project composed of 20 disaster science research and development projects, and maps and forecasts floods, storm surges, landslides, and other natural hazards.
It was launched in 2012 and was immediately used by local drrms in their disaster preparations and readiness. In fact, Project NOAH became the basis for mobilization of responders and those involved in rescue, recovery and rehabilitation operations.
Project NOAH was supposed to last from 2012 to 2015 only but was extended up to February 2017. The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) discontinued it citing it was only a “Project”.
Sectors in the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management community decried the discontinuation of the project and cited the lives Project NOAH has saved.
The Weather Bureau PAGASA was supposed to continue the project but instead decided to pass it on to the University of the Philippines (UP).
“Just like our previous blog site, our goal is to provide our end-users with the news, announcements, and latest developments of NOAH,” project personnel said on the NOAH Facebook page.
The UP NOAH Center will continue to provide information, reports, models and applications that have been found useful in DRRM.
The new UP NOAH Center page have a mobile-adaptive interface that will enable viewers to utilize NOAH in smart phones, tablets and laptops.
UP NOAH Center will continue to coordinate with the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), the Office of Civil Defence and the Climate Change Commission.
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