DOST begins P1-B comprehensive mapping of hazard-prone areas

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) on Thursday began its P1-billion comprehensive mapping project aimed at identifying hazard-prone areas in the country.

Two light planes of the University of the Philippines and the DOST, equipped with state-of-the-art LiDAR or Light Detection and Ranging instruments, took off for their maiden flights from the Aerotech Hangar at Clark Air Base in Angeles City, Pampanga last Thursday to start the government’s 3D mapping project.

The DOST project, dubbed DREAM or Disaster Risk and Exposure Assessment for Mitigation Program, is the country’s first three dimensional (3D) mapping program.

Science Secretary Mario Montejo said the project will determine the areas that are prone to floods and other natural hazards.

Program leader Enrico Paringit said LiDAR is the most effective technique to accurately measure elevation and depth critical to flood modeling. The DOST began scanning the Pampanga River Basin.

“This is what Google maps or Google Earth lacks: a 3D coordinate. It has a few 3D maps but only for select cities, like New York in the US,” he said.

By employing the LiDAR technology, 3D datasets will be created to be used as basis for reliable, detailed, and up-to-date flood hazard models for the country’s 22 major river basins, and consequently, for all flood-beleaguered areas in the entire archipelago, Paringit said.

According to Paringit, the DREAM, developed by Filipino scientists and engineers, is one of the most extensive 3D mappings in Southeast Asia.

“LiDAR maps also have vertical accuracy of plus and minus 20 centimeters. Philippine base maps and 2D Google Maps, on the other hand, have plus and minus 10 and 20 meters, respectively, and cannot be used for effective flood modeling,” he added.

“The maps that will be generated by DREAM will be very beneficial for government agencies. After the initial mapping and flood modeling program, we can always use the LiDAR instruments for other purposes, including, God forbid, post-disaster damage assessments like earthquakes, tsunamis, etc.,” he said.

The 3D maps can also be applied in forest inventory, environmental monitoring, infrastructure planning, faultline mapping, archaeological surveys, agricultural assessment, and even government revenue management.

In two years, the DREAM-LiDAR Project is expected to complete all flood models for the major river basins, which are roughly 33 percent of the country’s total land area, the DOST said.

DOST officials believe the DREAM project “is the grand solution to the country’s disaster preparedness problem.”

DREAM is one of eight components of DOST’s Project NOAH (Nationwide Operational Assessment of Hazards or Project), the country’s flagship program in disaster mitigation. – With Ding Cervantes