The City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO) is enhancing its information dissemination capabity by upgrading its coastal monitoring system.
Alfredo Baloran, CDRRMO chief, said this is necessary to ensure particularly those living in the coastal areas and other danger zones will immediately be alerted before the disaster strikes.
“In the coastal barangays, we have observed that it is really difficult to evacuate our residents from the coasts going out to the evacuation (centers). We can’t deny that there are really stubborn residents. We can’t really force them to evacuate that’s why it is best that we can inform them ahead of time,” said Baloran as he pointed out that another cause of the delay in the “evacuation process is because of the narrow roads in our coastal barangays.”
He said this has prompted the agency to upgrade its coastal monitoring systems so that it can provide real-time updates.
“We are upgrading our monitoring systems. We established coastal cameras in the coastal barangays. With that camera, we can see the movement of the shores,” he said as the agency has also been receiving reports from the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Administration particularly on the possible occurrence of tsunami after strong earthquakes.
Baloran said that with this improved monitoring system, they can inform the public ahead of time on our coastal status and tide forecast.
He added that there are cameras in Matina Aplaya that monitors the shores of Times Beach and Bago Aplaya. Other cameras are also in Toril, Bunawan and in Agdao.
Baloran also said the CDRRMO is expecting more cameras soon.
“These coastal cameras are just within the phase one. The phase two that will provide more cameras will be established soon,” he said.
