MANILA, Philippines – To check how susceptible an area is to flooding, you can visit the website of Nationwide Operational Assessment of Hazards of the University of the Philippines, better known as UP NOAH.

Heavy rain due to the enhanced southwest monsoon intensified by Super Typhoon Carina have caused flooding in parts of Luzon on Wednesday, July 24.

Knowing an area’s susceptibility to flooding and other hazards would help people prepare accordingly, the UP Resilience Institute said in a post on Wednesday.

Upon landing on the website, a user can type a location or click “Your Current Location.” The site then generates a map of the selected location and boxes that tell the user the flood, landslide, and storm surge hazard levels of the area.

For instance, as of writing, if the user typed Gil Fernando Avenue in Marikina City, the Flood Hazard Level would show “High” and “Little to None” for Landslide Hazard Level and Storm Surge Level, reflecting the actual situation on the ground.

On mobile, the website easily loaded on Wednesday afternoon. The map appears on the upper screen while hazard levels appear below.

According to UP NOAH, the hazards included in the map’s database are:

• 100-year rain return for floods
• Shallow and structurally-controlled landslides
• 5-meters for storm surges

These are based on flood simulations and satellite and historical data. (READ: Gov’t should use scientific data in hazard maps – Lagmay)

Under hazard levels is a list of critical facilities near the location inputed such as hospitals, health stations, and public schools.

There are also instructions on what to do during a flooding event, how to prepare for landslides and storm surges, as well as what to include in survival kits.

UP NOAH evolved from Project NOAH, designed to integrate disaster data across the Philippines to help communities prepare. This worthy project was established in 2012 during the time of former president Benigno Aquino III but stopped during the Duterte administration in 2017 due to lack of funds.

The UP NOAH Center in UP Diliman campus is now under the UP Resilience Institute starting 2017. The institute is headed by geologist Mahar Lagmay.

In a post early Wednesday night, the institute predicted that rains would continue to generate hazards.

“Based on my observations the past Habagat flooding events in Metro Manila, hangga’t hindi nawawala iyang pula na iyan kung saan nakaturo ang blue arrow ay may source pa rin ng ulan dito sa Metro Manila, (unless those red spots pointed by the blue arrow disappear, there will still be a source of rain here in Metro Manila),” said the institute.

Bookmark and refresh this page to get the latest weather updates, as well as information on relief efforts and the damage wrought by Carina and the southwest monsoon. – Rappler.com