LEGAZPI CITY --- The apparent lack of warning instruments and an institutionalized disaster management program among local disaster councils is the root of the deaths of over two hundred people and the billions of damages in infrastructure wrought by tropical storm “Ondoy” in Metro Manila and other regions in the country.

         Albay Gov. Joey Salceda in his analysis on how disaster authorities cope with Typhoon Ketsana said the crux of over 240 deaths and 32 still missing people in various parts of Metro Manila and neighboring regions is failure in warning.

        He said the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) has no Doppler radar to forecast short-run rainfall content of incoming typhoons or other weather disturbances.

         Presently the agency is using a manual rain gauge that captures data too late and the access of disaster authorities to the system is not direct and not on real time, he pointed out.

        Salceda, a top administration economic adviser, is also a climate change advocate and is known for his “pre-emptive” evacuation procedures during times of calamities.

        In his analysis he claimed that typhoon warnings are limited to only to wind – no flood warning or landslide warning system to activate evacuation.

        Salceda said “with no, little or late warning and no institutionalized disaster management system, the National Capital Region (NCR) and other regions were caught flat-footed at the sudden on-set of the flood.”

        “They failed to issue advisories on what to do, no evacuation order was issued prior to the flood event, and these advisories must be scientifically done,” he said.

        For these reasons, Salceda recommended that the weather agency should expedite acquisition of Doppler radars and develop a flood warning system to activate evacuation procedures by disaster authorities.

        He also urged disaster councils to institutionalize disaster preparedness at the local level, saying “Metropolitan authorities must fully operationalize its MMDA Disaster Coordinating Councils and the MMDA Disaster Management Office.

        He also highly recommended the implementation of pre-emptive evacuation procedures to prevent further the loss of lives. “Rescue is not needed if people are already evacuated,” he pointed out.

        Dam water discharge warning should also be integrated into PAGASA warning and forecast.

        He also urged representatives of the Lower House to immediately pass its version of the proposed Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) bill to institutionalize DRR in the regional, provincial and local levels. The Senate version has been already approved, Salceda said.

        The Philippines should start to adapt measures to the escalating impacts of climate change as manifested by recent extreme weather events, he said.