The provincial government is working on strengthening the disaster preparedness of local government units with the impending La Niña phenomenon, starting with the inventory of the early warning system on floods, rainfall volume, and water level in various river basins in Iloilo.

In an interview on Monday, Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Officer Cornelio Salinas said they conducted a comprehensive inventory of manual rain gauges (MRGs) of upstream towns, including Calinog, Lambunao, Janiuay, and Maasin.

The major river basins in these municipalities include the Ulian River in Lambunao, the Jalaur River in Calinog, and the Tigum and Salog Rivers in Maasin.

The Ulian and Jalaur rivers merge in Barangay Imbang Pequeño in Passi City, affecting downstream towns of Dueñas, Dingle, Pototan, Zarraga, Dumangas, and Barotac Nuevo, while the river basins in Maasin affect Sta. Barbara, Cabatuan, Maasin, and Pavia.

“We need to have instruments to monitor rainfall volume and water level of our river basins,” he said.

He added that while there are instruments issued before by the provincial government, they need to add more to ensure accurate and precise information from the ground.

Based on their inventory, Lambunao has automated weather stations and MRGs situated in strategic barangays but the municipal government is inclined to have an automated water-level sensor installed at the Barangay Agsirab Bridge.

The town of Calinog has two non-functional MRGs.

In the meantime, they rely on local practices to predict rainfall based on traditional knowledge from elders, complemented by the 24/7 radio communication system for upstream barangays along the Jalaur and Alibunan river systems.

The local government unit requested 10 MRGs to enhance their flood monitoring capabilities.

Further, the local government of Janiuay identified the need for two MRGs to be installed in Barangays Panuran and Quipot.

The visit to Maasin saw the need for six additional MRGs for effective flood monitoring.

Salinas said the governor had initially wanted to purchase manual rain gauges.

He also would like to provide instruments to southern towns experiencing flash floods. (PNA)