[M-IS06] Extreme Weather and Disasters in Southeast Asia

[MIS06-03] SatREx: Near-Real-Time Satellite Rainfall Extremes Monitoring System of the Philippines

*Marcelino Q. Villafuerte II¹, Mike A. Petaca¹, Wilmer A. Agustin¹, Charlie Ray D. Pascua¹ (1.Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration)

Keywords:Extreme rainfall, satellite-derived precipitation, online platform, the Philippines

Determining whether an extreme rainfall event is happening at any given time is of utmost importance for mitigating disasters in a highly vulnerable countries like the Philippines. Hence an online platform, which is used for near-real-time monitoring of extreme rainfall events in the country, was developed. Satellite rainfall estimates from Global Satellite Mapping of Precipitation (GSMaP) provided by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is used to monitor multi-hour and multi-day extreme rainfall events in near-real-time. Various return levels of 1-, 2-, 3-, and 6-hour, as well as 1-, 2-, 3-, and 5-day rainfall accumulations were derived and used as the thresholds to identify extreme events. Pixel-wise color-coded shadings indicative of potential flood occurrence are displayed on an interactive map, which is updated automatically every 30 min. Initial evaluation indicates that recently reported floodings caused by low pressure systems, monsoon rains, and shear line were captured by the online monitoring system. While the initial results are promising, thorough evaluation and further improvements of the system are required to gain confidence in the reliability and usability of the information it can deliver.