By Nijel Matthew Aquino
The mobile application “VolcanoPH Info” was released by DOST-PHIVOLCS on Monday in celebration of the institute’s 69th founding anniversary.
The Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology announced the app’s release in an online press conference through Facebook live.
According to a press release published earlier by the department, the VolcanoPH Info app’s main purpose is to give the public easy access to volcano bulletins and advisories through their Android devices.
The VolcanoPH Info app contains the list of volcanoes with active alert levels. Users tapping on a specific volcano will then be shown a 24-hour observation report summary, and recommendations presented in the Filipino language.
Additional information about the volcano such as alert level schemes, hazard maps, preparedness guides, glossary of volcanology and seismology terms, and bulletin archives can also be accessed.
Information in the application would be directly sourced from PHIVOLCS-Local Active Volcano Archive or the Volcano Monitoring Database, which would then be uploaded by a duty officer in volcano monitoring to the VolcanoPH Info app.
Additionally, the application also features fact-checking, which can help users identify fake advisories that use the format of DOST-PHIVOLCS announcements.
The first version of VolcanoPH Info, however, is limited to displaying volcanoes with the Alert Level 1 and above status. These include Mounts Bulusan, Kanlaon, Mayon, Pinatubo, and Taal.
Additionally, information about volcanoes at Alert Level 1 will only display infographics, while those at Level 2 and above will also show textual daily bulletins.
Other monitored volcanoes such as Mt. Hibok-Hibok and Isarog will be added to the app in the future.
Users can download the newly-released application through this link: http://cutt.ly/volcanoinfoph.
