The scheduled 42-hour cloud seeding operation in Bohol which started on Wednesday have brought rains over watershed areas across several towns in the province following a dry spell that left major dams with low water level.
According to Leon Parac, the operation’s focal person, they conducted two rounds on Wednesday and another two rounds on Thursday accumulating a total of six flight hours which included the travel time of the aircraft from its base to Bohol.
“Ang paglupad sa eroplano gi target ang mga watershed sa Malinao Dam kay ang spotter nato didto mipada og info na dunay mga seedable clouds over the area sa Sierra Bullones, Carmen, part of San Miguel sa Bayongan Dam so maoy giluparan sa eroplano gahapon,” Parac said.
He said that the operation resulted in rains over the towns of San Miguel, Sierra Bullones, Dagohoy, Carmen, Batuan, Bilar, Catigbian, Balilihan and Danao.
Parac noted that rains in the past week have not been enough to fill up the dams including the Malinao Dam in Pilar, ultimately leaving rice fields without irrigation.
“Need g’yud ang cloud-seeding operation diri sa atong probinsya sa Bohol gumikan kay ang atong mga tubig sa dam naa pa g’yud sa ubos na level na di pa sufficient enough para maka supply sa atong mga service area sa basakan,” he said.
The National Irrigation Adminstration has indicated that if dams including the Malinao Damao will release water these will not be enough to provide for the whole service area without heavier rains.
“Mao ng himuon gyud ang cloud seeding operation para maka tanom ang atong mga maguuma aron naa tay sufficient na supply kay naila raba ta na rice granary sa Central Visayas,” he said.
For now, the plane used for the operation has been grounded at the Bohol Panglao International Airport (BPIA) pending the spotting of more “seedable” clouds.
Aviation gas for the operation were kept at a rented space near the BPIA while salt for the seeding were stored at a tent set up at the facility.
“Naa man tay tent ni gi-allow sa CAAP Bohol sa airport na maoy punduhan sa asin na maoy ikarga sa eroplano unya gihimong command center pud sa cloud seeding,” Parac said.
Meanwhile, rice technicians and personnel from the Philippine Air Force have been tapped to serve as cloud spotters, he added. (RT)