The Philippine government has launched a mobile phone application which can provide real-time information on rainfall and flooding to the general public. The application has been added to the already existing website hosted by The Nationwide Operational Assessment of Hazards (NOAH). This organization aims to provide information about bad weather and thus mitigate disasters such as floods, typhoons and landslides. The NOAH mobile application will initially be available only for Android smartphones. However, its sharing options will allow users to share information across different social media.
According to the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center, the Philippines - with its typhoons, floods, droughts, volcanoes, earthquakes and landslides, and home to over 100 million people - is the most disaster prone country in the world.
A 2011 World Bank study showed that 80 percent of Filipino households have a mobile phone, making the application convenient and accessible.
