Automated Weather Facility provided to Visayas provinces

By Provincial Media Relations Center
July 13, 2012

TACLOBAN CITY  –  At least fifteen provinces in the Visayas, including Leyte province, are recipient of an automated weather facility provided by Weather Philippines Foundation of the Aboitiz Group of Companies in partnership with the League of Provinces of the Philippines (LPP).

The turn-over of the automatic weather facility was conducted after the Installation Training provided by Weather Philippines to more or less 30 representatives from the provinces of Negros Oriental, Guimaras, Siquijor, Bohol, Cebu, Iloilo, Aklan, Antique, Dinagat, Capiz, Samar, Eastern Samar, Northern Samar, Biliran and Leyte.

The representatives from these provinces were trained on the maintenance and installation of the automated weather device at the Governor’s Hall of the Provincial Capitol.

The automatic weather facility would provide a localized picture of current and future weather conditions. The facility, a technology of a company in Switzerland, is an electronic device that senses, measures, and transmits meteorological data of weather conditions.

Mr. Celso Caballero, Weather Philippines Foundation General Manager, said the foundation has not been set up to compete with PAGASA, rather to complement and augment efforts of the public weather bureau in providing weather information.

“We would like to contribute to the Philippine society and economy by operating a premiere weather forecasting system that will provide free weather information in an effort to reduce risks and calamities associated with adverse weather conditions” Caballero said.

Caballero likewise disclosed that Weather Philippines Foundation is presently working to provide its key deliverables which include the set up of roughly 1000 weather instruments/devices all over the Philippines in its first two years of operations; affiliate and coordinate with various scientific, government and non-governmental agencies for the supply of weather information; and, through its technology partner Meteomedia Philippines, operate the weather portal that could show seven-days forecast in a three-hours interval.

Meanwhile, Leyte Gov. Carlos Jericho Petilla said that the province was one of those who clamored for the installation of the automated weather system since typhoons and rainy seasons are often occurrence in the province.

“We need these facilities so that we can immediately warn the public in cases that they need to evacuate. To be able to do that, we need reliable devices within our reach,” Gov. Petilla said.