An affordable landslide sensor designed to save lives is being developed in the Philippines. The device measures soil erosion in mountainous areas and signals residents that a landslide may be in the making. Let's find out more.
Students and faculty at the University of the Philippines (U.P.) are developing a landslide warning device that can prompt early evacuations and prevent casualties.
In a cyclone-battered country where landslides take countless lives every year, the research is considered crucial to improving disaster management and risk reduction.
The prototype sensors are cylindrical nodes planted 2 meters (1.24) deep in the foot of a mountain.
They measure soil movements and send the data to terminals via instant messaging.
Mark Zarco, a geodetic engineer and one of the developers, says landslides occur on a slope before being visible to the naked eye.
[Mark Zarco, Geodetic Engineer & University Professor]:
"It's only when there are large movements that they become visible, but very often measuring even just the small movements, that eventually become big movements, give you a lot more lead time to warn people."
The device incorporates a moisture sensor and an accelerometer to measure the direction, speed and moisture content of the soil when it rains.
It is similar to but much less expensive than the conventional inclinometer that measures earth movements via a casing which moves from its initial position when the ground moves.
But at around 45 thousand dollars U.S., inclinometers are much too expensive for poor communities whose priorities are food supply, farm materials and road infrastructure.
The university team's sensing device will sell for around 11 hundred dollars U.S.
Meanwhile, the team is incorporating other measuring devices inside the sensor.
[Ruffa Carreon, Engineering Student & Research Assistant]:
"This is one of the columns in our experiment. It has several nodes. One node has a tilt and soil motion sensor. So it is connected to a computer, and ported to a graphical user interface to show any movement can be seen on the screen."
The group, consisting of engineering students, faculty and geologists from U.P., started designing the sensors two years ago originally as a construction aid, but saw its potential as a landslide warning device.
The project also aims to conduct more thorough measurements and analysis of soil behavior so erosion warnings can be more precise.
The team plans to equip the sensors with an interface that would accurately measure soil movements and pinpoint the tipping point of a landslide in order to warn the community hours before calamity strikes.
[Sandra Catanes, Geology Professor]:
"We need this early warning system in areas, in communities, where there are no engineering solutions to landslides."
For Connie Malari who survived a deadly landslide in a Manila suburb in 1999, such sophisticated devices could offer some sense of preparedness.
[Connie Malari, Landslide Survivor]:
"It gives us some protection, especially those of us who live near the mountains, because even before the landslide occurs, we would be able to flee to safer grounds."
The landslide warning sensor however, is still in the prototype stage.
The group needs to conduct field tests in landslide-prone areas to gather more data to develop the product.
Optimistic project developers say they're still looking for support from the public and private sectors, but that if all goes well, they will roll out the product in two years.
