A team of engineers and geologists from the University of the Philippines (UP)-Diliman, has installed the landslide monitoring equipment in the catastrophic regions of Benguet. The objective of the experts is to improve the preparation to avoid a landslide in vulnerable communities. This landslide sensor system was mounted in Barangay Longlong, Sitio Becktey in Puguis town.
The purpose of the landslide-sensing network is to decrease the landslide associated threat and is a part of Department of Science and Technology (DoST), which funded the research campaign that deals with Disaster Risk Management Using Sensor Network and Computing.
This sensor system includes a column of moisture and tilt sensor and a PC to store and process the information.
The movement of subsurface soil, up to 40 m depth, is monitored by the underground tilt sensors. Conversely, pore water pressure sensors monitors the rising water pressure in the soil during heavy rains prior to the landslide incident.
The information gathered by the sensors will be sent to a PC for storing and analyzing of the data. This data will be employed by the geologists to conclude the substantial slope movement, which may result in a landslide in the future. Then, the analyzed data will become the base to plan suitable preventive measures during the calamity.
The experts have selected Barangay Puguis as the spot to install the disaster monitoring equipment, as there is a possibility of another landslide analogous to the October 2009 disaster.
Source: http://www.upd.edu.ph/