We tailor our day-to-day activities according to weather and living in the Philippines means experiencing an average of 20 storms yearly and weathering through a six-month long rainy season that stretches to the Christmas season.
In December 2021, super typhoon Odette (international name: Rai) pummeled the Philippines, leaving on its wake damage running up to P20 billion, and more than 150,000 people affected and dozens of dead.
Properties were not spared from the might of Odette. Developer Megaworld’s hotels and communities they built across the country were badly damaged, and as they continue with their mission to build townships that cater to the needs of their clients, they also moved to protect their assets and to make sure sustainability and climate resilience are among the foundations of their projects.
To achieve this, Megaworld turned to climate data and analytics and there is no other better partner to help them in their mission than Komunidad.
Pioneer township developer in Asia
An integral part of this mission is better equipping their residents to prepare and address extreme weathers brought about by climate change.
Megaworld is building its Township and Analytics and Technology Lab that would house an artificial intelligence program to detect accidents for faster incident response and a surveillance system. Another feature of its data science lab is a Township-specific Weather Analytics and Monitoring capability, made possible through the services and products of Komunidad.
In its pilot run, Komunidad will help Megaworld harness the power of climate data and analytics to protect its townships in Taguig City, Tagaytay, Iloilo, Cebu and Boracay—making them the first real estate company in the country that uses weather and environmental data for operations, planning and analytics.
With the Township-specific Weather Analytics and Monitoring capability, Megaworld townships are provided with localized and more accurate climate information to help residents and locators plan their day-to-day activities more efficiently making these communities more resilient in the face of extreme weather.
Komunidad will be providing a community portal to residents within Megaworld townships that will enable them to access environmental data and smart weather stations to monitor the weather and air quality of their townships.
They will also receive a daily report that will detail weather conditions in their area for the next 24 hours. Should there be changes in weather, lightning impact and dangerous thunderstorms, they will receive SMS and Viber alerts to help them plan ahead and to secure themselves.
During times of weather disturbances, a Pre-Disaster Risk Assessment (PDRA) Report will be provided that will let them prepare for the impact of Low Pressure Areas (LPAs) and tropical cyclones (TCs) on their townships instead of solely relying on general updates from PAGASA.
Beyond these, Komunidad also offers support to Megaworld’s own data science team to extract insights from weather and environmental data and relate them to their existing real-estate, sales, and operations data.
Francis Viernes, Megaworld’s Assistant Vice President – Chief Data Scientist Head of Data Analytics / Data Science, has seen how a localized weather report has been helpful to their clients as part of their value-added services.
He said: “Unlike other weather analysis providers, our township weather analytics can send out advice to people within our townships about the specific time rain is going to pour, for example, in McKinley Hill, as opposed to just having a generic weather analysis for the entire Taguig City.”
Through these innovations, Megaworld was able to ensure the safety of its athletes and participants at their Ironman 70.3 event in Cebu. When eyeing property locations, the Heat Index guides them in creating more green spaces and urban gardens.
Komunidad aims to walk hand-in-hand with companies like Megaworld in better protecting their clients and building more sustainable and resilient communities. It enjoins builders to explore the advantages of having science-backed decisions in future projects.
Testimonial
“Unlike other weather analysis providers, our township weather analytics can send out advice to people within our townships about the specific time rain is going to pour, for example, in McKinley Hill, as opposed to just having a generic weather analysis for the entire Taguig City.”
– Mr. Francis Viernes, Assistant Vice President – Chief Data Scientist Head of Data Analytics / Data Science, Megaworld