The additional P1 billion for Project NOAH is expected to help the government better prepare for floods, typhoons and other disasters worsened by climate change.

Mahar Lagmay, executive director of the University of the Philippines Resilience Institute (UPRI), said the funding would allow Project Nationwide Operational Assessment of Hazards (NOAH) to improve flood management, hazard monitoring and disaster-risk reduction.

The goal, according to him, is to make scientific information more useful to government agencies and communities facing disasters.

“The P1 billion allocation for UPRI will be measured by better information, transparency, evidence-based governance and decision-making, effective flood management, and reduced disaster risks and losses,” Lagmay said in interviews with state and private media over the weekend.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. earlier ordered the Department of Budget and Management to release the P1 billion for Project NOAH, which is being managed by UPRI.

The project uses years of rainfall records, satellite images, hazard maps and other data to help predict where floods and other hazards could occur.

Lagmay said NOAH’s impact-based forecasting system is being developed to give warnings as early as one day before a possible flood, including its expected effects on roads, homes, buildings and traffic.

Of the P1 billion, P935 million will go to research services while P65 million will cover general management and supervision.

The money will also be used for high-resolution mapping of major river basins, hazard assessments, land-use planning and Oplan Kontra Baha.

NOAH will also conduct LiDAR and drone surveys, study soil erosion and sediment buildup, map hidden waterways and explore nature-based solutions to flooding.

The project will work with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), local governments and other agencies in using the data for flood-control and other infrastructure projects.

Meanwhile, Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon has ordered the updating of flood-management master plans across the country.

The move comes as the government pushes for longer-term solutions to the country’s recurring flooding problems.

Marcos said earlier this month that the country has had a flood-control master plan for decades but that it was never properly implemented.

“We already have a master plan. It’s just never been executed. We are only executing it now,” he told reporters after inspecting repairs on a collapsed bridge in Tarlac on Sept. 2.

“We have had a master plan for decades pero walang ginawa. Ngayon lang natin sinisimulan,” Marcos added.

The President made the remarks as heavy monsoon rains caused widespread flooding in Central Luzon, Metro Manila and other parts of Luzon.

UP President Angelo Jimenez said the additional funding would help research translate into decisions and projects that could benefit Filipinos.

“We do research because knowledge matters, and knowledge matters most when it can help us make better decisions, solve real problems, and improve the lives of our people,” Jimenez said.IMT