Army develops disaster warning device

MANILA, Philippines - The Army has developed an equipment that could serve as an early warning system for disaster-prone areas.

The MLX4 manpack public address system will soon be distributed to field units to alert communities and to minimize casualties.

“The manpack system is portable and it can help save lives because it will enable our soldiers to provide warnings to people,” 1Lt. Gemira Dy, public affairs chief of the Army’s Civil-Military Operations Group, said.

The MLX4 project will undergo field testing this month. The Army plans to initially distribute 416 units of the equipment to field personnel nationwide.

The equipment has two microphone inputs, a DVD player, AM/FM radio, MP3 port, and a siren that are all arranged in a backpack aluminum carriage with harness for mobility. Disaster management officials can use the MLX4 to issue announcements and advisories.

The MLX4 is powered by a 220 wattage of dual-sourced batteries that can last up to 14 hours. Its speaker could reach about one kilometer in an open terrain and about 500 meters in built up areas.

Details of the manpack public address system project are now being finalized.

Dy said each MLX4 unit costs about P12,000, cheaper than the commercially sold speakers with similar capabilities that cost about P30,000.

“The project will entail lower costs since the materials were sourced locally and we are the ones who assembled the units,” she said.

Col. Arnulfo Burgos, chief of the Army Civil-Military Operations Group, said the MLX4 would be essential for soldiers involved in disaster relief, humanitarian operations and peace and development activities.

A similar project was undertaken by the Army in 1997. Col. Paul Regencia, then the commandant of the Civil-Miliary Operations School, led the creation of a man-packed loudspeaker which was eventually used for classroom exercises and civic action programs. – Alexis Romero