Taguig launches first-ever disaster visibility information system

READY FOR DISASTERS. The city government of Taguig launches disaster visibility information system that will provide real-time updates to its residents on Thursday (Feb. 6, 2020). Mayor Lino Cayetano said the system will give round-the-clock feeds from cameras situated across some 100 locations in the city. (PNA photo by Lloyd Caliwan)

MANILA — The city government of Taguig on Thursday launched a disaster visibility information system that will provide real-time updates on weather conditions, storms, disasters and other information affecting all 28 barangays within the city.

Mayor Lino Cayetano said the Taguig Weather Monitoring System (TWMS), a first of its kind technology in the country, will give round-the-clock feeds from cameras situated across some 100 locations.

“This is a breakthrough in the country’s disaster preparedness because it provides localized and area-specific updates and we are happy Taguig is part of this historic occasion The technology also allows us to monitor other things like the quality of the air. Pwede namin i-warn yung mga kababayan namin na maysakit kung sakali na hindi maganda ang air quality sa isang lugar (We can warn residents who are sick in case air quality in a certain area is not good,” Cayetano told reporters.

Cayetano added that this is part of the local government’s efforts towards making Taguig a smart city.

Through this initiative, the city government will use 100 cameras to monitor various circumstances and events. The live feed from the cameras can be seen on the website https://dvis-taguig.com.

The system can be used in localized flood monitoring, hazard mapping and even in daily community weather updates, providing valuable information to complement information from national agencies such as the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration and Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology.

Specifically, it can show the distance of the eye of a storm to a specific area and allows for accurate six-hour weather forecasts and weather reports for up to a 15-day period.

The system also has earthquake analytics which can show the exact distance of an earthquake’s epicenter to a specific place in the city.

Cayetano said the system’s mobile application will soon be available for residents.

“Right now the website is available to everyone. We will have daily updates (from the) I Love Taguig Facebook (page) and then within 30 to 60 days, I will ask the weather monitoring system of Taguig to be able to develop an application (which can be used by our residents) but right now, (anyone can just visit the website) to check or to go to I Love Taguig Facebook,” Cayetano said.
While the system offers localized weather monitoring solely for Taguig, Cayetano said it is a big step toward promoting a culture of safety and can serve as a benchmark for other cities to follow suit.

“We think it is very important especially for school principals, village chiefs and heads of private sector offices. There are a lot of times when they have to decide for their constituents, they have to decide for their students, they have to decide for their employees. What we are doing is to empower them to decide based on the data acquired,” he stressed.

He added that the city government will also form a weather monitoring team that will disseminate substantial information to these stakeholders.

“In fact, what we want to do is to work with DILG (Department of the Interior and Local Government) so that after Taguig City has piloted this, we want to show that the amount to be spent is small compared to the benefits. It is really important that we have an “always ready” approach when it comes to disasters. Hopefully, all our cities (in the country will) have localized a weather monitoring system,” Cayetano said.