Following the expressed desire of President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. for a more proactive response to calamities, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) announced that it has released P1 billion for AI-powered flood forecasting and disaster mitigation.
Accordingly, AI disaster forecasting and correlated initiatives will be made through the Nationwide Operational Assessment of Hazards (NOAH) project of the University of the Philippines (UP) System which aims to strengthen real-time hazard monitoring and disaster prevention capabilities and mitigate the impact of disaster.
The project is in line with the government’s push to shift disaster management from responding after calamities strike to using science, technology and data to anticipate risks and prevent hazards from becoming disasters.
DBM acting secretary Kim Robert De Leon explained that the funding boosts real-time hazard monitoring and predictive flood modeling to help the government act before the disasters strike.
“We don’t have to wait for the flood to rise before we act. The goal is to determine where the danger lies, who is at risk and what needs to be done before disaster strikes,” De Leon underscored.
“This ₱1 billion investment in Project NOAH is an investment in prevention,” the budget chief pointed out as he stressed that “putting science, AI, and real-time hazard information to work will help government to act earlier and communities to prepare better so more Filipino lives and livelihoods can be protected.”
He noted that
the amount released will be chargeable on the university’s built-in appropriation under the FY 2026 General Appropriations Act, which includes ₱935 million to support research services and ₱65 million to fund general management and supervision for the implementation of Project NOAH.
Likewise, the funding will support the procurement and deployment of critical ICT, digital, technical and scientific equipment; the engagement of highly specialized technical personnel; and the establishment of operational support systems needed to strengthen the country’s hazard assessment and forecasting capabilities.
In addition,
the program also harnesses AI-enhanced modeling, light detection and ranging (Lidar) mapping, data analytics and other digital technologies to generate real-time hazard assessments, predictive flood scenarios and science-based information that can help national government agencies and local government units (LGUs) make faster and better-informed decisions before and during emergencies.
De Leon cited that t
he project will be implemented by the UP-Resilience Institute (UPRI) with Project NOAH advancing disaster risk reduction and management and climate change adaptation and mitigation through research, development and extension services.
“Strengthening disaster prevention is also a matter of protecting public resources, as major disasters can destroy homes, livelihoods, infrastructure and years’ worth of government investments in a matter of hours,” he noted.