For mobile innovations in hazards preparedness Voyager, InterAksyon tie up with Project NOAH

CEBU, Philippines - Voyager Innovations, Inc. (Voyager) recently inked a partnership with the government’s Project NOAH (Nationwide Operational Assessment of Hazards) for innovations in rain preparedness and hazards awareness with the help of mobile and smartphone technology.

Through a new consumer-centric app being developed by Voyager, Filipinos will soon get easy to understand, relevant and real-time updates about oncoming rain and other hazards in their specific localities.

The new app will use data culled by the Department of Science and Technology’s (DOST) vast network of more than 700 sensors that gather a variety of information across the country and churn out weather data with 95% accuracy.

Through a partnership with InterAksyon.com, the app will be able to deliver up to the minute updates on class suspensions and other relevant advisories that could be useful to users in specific areas.

“We are making ‘nowcasting’ of rain probability simple and understandable for the typical Filipino who can use this information to plan their day or prepare for any weather disturbance within their vicinity,” Fernandez added. “This is the first step in preparing them for bigger natural hazards that may possibly come their way in the future.”

Aside from a simple design easily understood by the common Filipino, the new app will also feature timely notifications that will alert users of oncoming heavy rainfall within their vicinity, aside from other timely hazards information.

The app is expected to launch via the Google Play Store before the end of the year, making it available to all Android-based smartphones in the country.

“Our goal with Project NOAH has always been the delivery of accurate and relevant information about weather hazards that can be useful to a lot of Filipinos. While we already have powerful Project NOAH apps available on Android and iOS, this partnership with Voyager and InterAksyon.com will allow even more Filipinos to appreciate the kind of information we deliver to the people,” said Dr. Mahar Lagmay, executive director of Project NOAH.

Prior to the partnership, Voyager and Project NOAH already forged a relationship in the form of a mirror site hosted under the former’s facilities, which ensures that NOAH’s services and data continue to be accessible to the people even in times of system failures or overwhelming traffic coming from its Web app.

For his part, InterAksyon.com Editor in Chief Roby Alampay said: “The delivery of timely and accurate information about heavy rains and class suspensions is crucial to students and their parents. Through this partnership, we can see to it that everyone is aware of the hazards within their vicinity even before they step out of their doors.”

InterAksyon.com is the online news portal of TV5, a subsidiary of Mediaquest Holdings, Inc. (Mediaquest). Voyager, meanwhile, is a subsidiary of mobile leader Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart).   (FREEMAN)