PAGASA, Google team up for Public Alerts project

By BEA MONTENEGRO, GMA News

Published November 13, 2014 1:05pm

PAGASA has teamed up with Google.org to launch Public Alerts, a new way for Filipinos to access relevant information and typhoon alerts from official sources.

“The Philippines is one of the most typhoon-stricken countries in the world, with an average of 20 tropical storms making landfall each year,” said Meryl Stone, Head of Partnerships for Google Crisis Response. “By making crisis information readily available through online tools people commonly use, we hope to help those at risk to act more promptly and mitigate disaster impact.”

The project took 5 months to complete, according to officials. PAGASA sends Google relevant information in CAP (Common Alerting Protocol) format, which Google then displays across multiple Google platforms.

Currently, Google Public Alerts in the Philippines only displays information on typhoons, but the company hopes to expand to include other disasters such as earthquakes and tsunamis.

Information in the alerts include the typhoon’s projected area of impact, the storm path, estimated time of arrival, and traffic information. Other features include Person Finder, which contains information and updates about missing persons, and Crisis Map, which shows information about the nearest shelters and hospitals, flood-prone areas, and evacuation routes.

Displayed alerts will depend on the user’s location and search query, as well as the severity of the disaster.

According to Dr. Landrico Dalida, Jr., PAGASA’s Acting Administrator for Operations and Services, Public Alerts will be able to issue the first alert by the time the next typhoon hits the country.

Google Public Alerts has been integrated with Google Search, Google Maps, and Google Now. Public Alerts are visible both through desktops and mobile phones. All active alerts can be viewed at the Public Alerts website. — TJD, GMA News

Tags: google, googlepublicalerts, pagasa