Metro gets ‘tweaked’ early flood warning system

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A REHABILITATED flood control and early warning project which can alert Metro Manila residents to rising levels in waterways will be turned over today to the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA).

Funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency, the Effective Flood Control Operating System (EFCOS) has a brand new monitoring system to measure rainfall in mountains and alert Metro residents about possible flooding in Marikina River, Pasig River and even Manila Bay by at least an hour and a half before the water levels rise.

“Our rain gauges in the mountains allow us to measure the amount of rainfall and gives us the lead time to warn of flooding once the water flows down to the Marikina River,” MMDA Chair Emerson Carlos said during the agency’s Sunday radio program.

The system which is based at the Rosario Pumping Station in Manggahan, Pasig City, started with the improvement of its telemetry and radio system last October 2014.

Carlos said that EFCOS would be a more effective early-warning system for residents in Rizal and Metro Manila, especially in Marikina City, should there be a need to evacuate to higher grounds.

“The new system will also allow us to properly determine how many gates in the floodway should be opened,” he added. –Maricar B. Brizuela