Manila: When typhoon Rammasun struck Marikina City on Wednesday, residents received help from an electronic gadget, a tablet with a name synonymous with deliverance — Moses.

“Moses tablets given to local government units in the city had been crucial in providing advance information on the impending arrival of typhoon Rammasun (referred to in the Philippines as typhoon Glenda), thus officials down to the village level were able to map out what to do to effectively respond to the emergency and keep people safe,” Toni Baldola, executive assistant at the Marikina Central Communication and Command Centre told Gulf News.

Marikina was given 16 Moses tablets under the Project Noah (Nationwide Operational Assessment of Hazards) programme of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) in June. The eastern Metro Manila city is pilot-testing the device for adoption in other calamity-prone areas of the country as part of the government’s overall disaster risk-reduction and mitigation programme.

On Tuesday, an evacuation was carried out in the flood-prone area of Marikina on the basis of information gathered from the Moses tablet. Areas along the Marikina River were placed in imminent danger as the tributary’s water level reached the critical 16 metres.

“Some 100 people living in the danger zones were evacuated because of the danger that their houses would be overran by the waters,” Baldola said.

The Moses tablet, also known as Mobile System for Emergency Services, was effective in monitoring the number of people affected by the flooding.

Earlier, Dr Mahar Lagmay, executive director of Project Noah, said the Moses tablet would significantly improve the information dissemination of local government units like Marikina and enhance its public monitoring and early warning procedure. During the evacuation on Tuesday, the Moses tablet did just that — issued warnings of an impending dangers.

Measuring eight inches wide, the Moses tablet serves as a database for crucial information such as the location of different critical infrastructures, access lanes and evacuation routes to be taken during calamities.

The applications contained in the Moses are proprietary and developed by the DOST such as Project Noah, Arko, and Flood Reports, along with weather updates from Twitter, Climate X, MMDA, Pagasa and PhiVolcs.

Each tablet package comes with a microphone, power bank and water resistant camera among other things.

Marikina City Mayor Del de Guzman said during the onslaught of typhoon Rammasun on Wednesday, the city did not suffer casualties thanks in large part to Moses.

“Marikina does its best to achieve zero casualty target each time a calamity like typhoon and monsoon rain hit Metro Manila,” De Guzman said.

In other parts of Metro Manila and the country, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said at least 38 were confirmed dead from the effects of Rammasun.

The NDRRMC said a majority of the victims were pinned down by collapsed walls, falling debris and fallen trees while others died of electrocution and drowning.