Quezon City, Philippines selects Komunidad’s Climate Operations Center to provide multi-hazard impact-based monitoring and early warning systems to 142 Barangays
Major cities in the Philippines are experiencing extreme weather events, making public safety and infrastructure vulnerable. Quezon City, the largest and most populous city in Metro Manila, the Philippines’ capital region, has recently selected Komunidad’s Climate Operations Center to provide a multi-hazard impact-based monitoring and early warning system to aid severe weather decision-making, response and planning. It aims to bolster climate resilience against severe weather in Quezon City by harnessing the power of digital transformation and adapting a data-driven approach, empowering 142 barangays in the area, including residents, schools, commercial districts and other communities.
Awards & Recognition
The system won the First Place in Climate Technology For Resilience Award in this year's "2022 Mga Kwentong KLIMA-likasan Recognition Awards" for the Group Category by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). Mga Kwentong KLIMA-likasan Recognition Awards aims to showcase and highlight the track record and important contributions and initiatives of women and men as decision-makers, caretakers, stakeholder, experts and educators in environment, climate change, and disaster risk reduction sectors, and even organizations and LGU in these directions.
Video by Quezon City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (QC-DRRMO)
From left Emilio Miguel C. Agustin, QC Operations Supervisor; John Lequiron, Komunidad Philippines Country Director; and James Bryan C. Basit, QC Resident Meteorologist
The key to building resilient communities is through local government
Quezon City is one of the major cities in the Philippines to integrate state-of-the-art environmental data in their severe weather response planning. The city has undulating terrain and is within the catchment area of five river systems: San Juan River, Tullahan River, Marikina River, Pasig River and Meycauayan River, as well as their tributaries and creeks with a total length of almost 200 km. During heavy rainfall, these river systems receive tremendous amounts of water and are in danger of overflowing, putting about 78 areas in 35 communities at risk of flooding. Komunidad's system will bring forecasting, monitoring and alerts down to the barangay level, enhancing their capacity to inform at-risk citizens during extreme weather events.
“We believe that the key to building resilient communities is through local government enhancing their existing process and exploring a data-driven approach and an efficient dissemination to reach stakeholders up to barangay and citizen level,” Komunidad founder and CEO Felix Ayque said.
Komunidad’s technology and data experts are working with QCDRRMO to model and analyze the city’s severe weather risks and provide support to the disaster department’s decision-making. The platform enables Quezon City officials to have a localized view of climate and weather risks, deliver communications efficiently and be equipped with relevant data for post-event planning.
