Davao City will construct a CCTV in upstream rivers

By Rudolf Ian G. Alama

Thursday 24th of January 2013

DAVAO CITY Jan. 24 (PIA) -- The City Government of Davao will be setting up CCTV (Close Circuit TV) cameras in identified upstream rivers as a pre-emptive measure in case Davao River swells up again and cause massive flooding. 

photo credit: oddsteph via photopin cc

Magno Adalin chief of the Davao City Public Safety Office says the system dubbed Telemetric Monitoring System will be installed in Tamugan and Lacson Rivers identified as upstream tributaries of the Davao River.

Adalin said that based on studies it would take two hours for the waters of Lacson and Tamugan to flow into the Davao River.

The system will have CCTV cameras transmitting images of water levels in these upstream rivers the system will also be equipped with water level sensors which could send data and images in real time.

“These will give us enough lead time to prepare for the flood,” Adalin said describing the system as giving them the needed situational awareness on the upstream portions of the Davao River.

Adalin admitted that currently there is no system in place to warn people in case the tributaries would bring in a deluge of water to the Davao River. He added that the human monitoring is flawed as there is no standards in determining if the water level is normal or already is in excess.

The PSO chief said they contacted the supplier of the City’s CCTV cameras if they could come with a prototype of the CCTV-based Telemetric Monitoring System the soonest time possible.

Last January 20, a swollen Davao River inundated several riverside communities forcing the evacuation of about 42,000 residents in Davao City.

photo credit: Yersinia via photopin cc

Aside from the river CCTV cameras the City is eyeing the acquisition of 170 CCTV cameras which will be used for traffic management and securing critical infrastructure. (PIA/RG Alama)

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