Project NOAH will use the government’s ₱1-billion funding to produce more detailed flood maps, improve disaster warnings, and help authorities identify safer areas for communities and infrastructure.
Project NOAH stands for Nationwide Operational Assessment of Hazards. It is the disaster-risk research and mapping program of the UP Resilience Institute-NOAH Center (UPRI-NOAH).
The UP Resilience Institute-NOAH Center (UPRI-NOAH) said it would update maps of major river basins using technology capable of showing hazards in areas as small as one square meter.
These maps will contain information on waterways, floodplains, land use, watersheds, infrastructure, and communities exposed to flooding. The data can help local governments decide where homes, roads, evacuation centers, and other facilities should be built.
UPRI-NOAH said the money would not be treated as funding for a single, stand-alone project. Instead, it will expand systems that turn scientific research into practical information for disaster preparation, flood management, environmental protection, and government spending decisions.
The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) released the ₱1 billion to the University of the Philippines System under the 2026 national budget.
Of the amount, ₱935 million will support research services, while ₱65 million will cover management and supervision. The funding will also pay for information and communications technology, digital and scientific equipment, specialized workers, and systems needed to keep Project NOAH operating.
Project NOAH will use artificial intelligence (AI), LiDAR mapping, and data analysis to forecast possible flooding and monitor hazards as they develop. LiDAR uses laser pulses to measure the ground and create highly detailed maps, including areas that may be difficult to survey manually.
The project will also support Oplan Kontra Baha, the government’s flood-management program. UPRI-NOAH will work with the Department of Public Works and Highways, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, local governments, and private companies.
The groups will combine information about watersheds, terrain, flood behavior, infrastructure, and conditions reported by communities. This will help them determine whether an area needs infrastructure such as drainage systems and flood barriers or other measures such as zoning rules, early warnings, and evacuation plans.
“This ₱1-billion investment in Project NOAH is an investment in prevention,” Budget Acting Secretary Kim Robert De Leon said in a statement. “We are putting science, AI, and real-time hazard information to work so the government can act earlier, communities can prepare better, and more Filipino lives and livelihoods can be protected,”
Project NOAH is implemented by UPRI to support disaster preparation and help communities adjust to the effects of climate change. Its hazard information is intended to give national agencies and local governments a clearer picture of the risks before typhoons and heavy rains cause widespread damage.