CCTVs to monitor floods in Metro Manila; Another disastrous flood likely to occur warns experts
Manila Authorities in Metro Manila have installed closed circuit cameras at inundation prone areas of the metropolis as part of measures to prevent a repeat of a disastrous flood that hit Manila on September 26 last year.
Oscar Inocentes, chair of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), said 20 closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras have been installed in the floodgates in strategic areas of the metropolis to warn of any rapid rise in the water level and guard against massive flooding.
Inocentes said the CCTV cameras are part of a new comprehensive system that allows the MMDA to closely monitor the status of the various pumping stations located in the area.
He said that with the new system, the MMDA can monitor not just the level of water in a certain locale but also get information on the fuel status, fuel consumption and the amount of fuel in the storage tanks of the pumps.
Data from each of the 20 pumping stations will then be transmitted wirelessly to the MMDA Command Centre central monitoring.
Aside from the MMDA, local government units (LGUs) in Metro Manila have started to set in place their own disaster mitigation plans to be able to prepare for natural disasters such as floods, earthquakes, landslides and mud flow.
Earlier, experts warned that abnormal heavy rainfalls and massive floods, including the one that typhoon Ketsana (local codename: Ondoy) brought in the country last year, will most likely occur in the country in the near future.
Dr Gemma T. Narisma of the Manila Observatory, said preparation should be set in place to mitigate the risk in populous areas of Metro Manila.
Dr Narisma, who said climate change has indeed set in as shown by the extreme weather events that have happened in the recent past, is urging the MMDA and LGUs to prepare for disastrous flood which, according to trend, is going to occur more often in the course of global climate change.
