Aftermath of Maring and Habagat

We are thankful that we were spared of the worst. Compared to the floods in Cavite, Bulacan and Pampanga (at least based on what I have read or seen on TV) they had much difficult situations there. In the case of Cavite, many towns are now still underwater and the experience there seems quite new to many based on the interviews on TV and radio. Many in Kawit, Bacoor and Noveleta have put the blame on a major tollway project as well as residential and industrial subdivision developments in the province. While politicians, the DPWH and others have tried to explain that Cavitex and subdivision developments are not to blame and that the engineering designs were sound, it is uncertain whether these designs were really sound in the first place and if they were, if these were implemented the right way. Based on experience, developers have been generally irresponsible with drainage and the floods in Marikina, Cainta, Pasig and Taytay are a testament to this fault. With the availability of information today including old maps of these areas, we now know that much of what are now residential subdivisions were rice fields with natural waterways like creeks and streams, and ponds. Most of these have been covered and replaced by ill-designed drainage systems resulting in excessive runoffs that now cause the floods.

Flooded residential street with few cars of residents brave enough not to take their vehicles to higher ground

Some homes have had their ground floors and garages elevated to cope with floods. This is often the case in areas where location is actually good and conditions are better through most of the year. I think this is part of what you call climate adaptation.

In the more urbanized areas like Manila, Pasay and Quezon City, drainage systems are quite antiquated and obviously can not handle the amount of rainfall that we get these days. In fact, even with new culverts installed in many parts of Manila, these areas are still flooded though residents say that at least the levels can be lower than before and flood waters recede faster than before. To me, this still is not enough and the DPWH should re-assess and revise their design standards to address the intense rainfalls that have now become regular. I think that in these cases, over-designing drainage systems will pay off not just in the long run but in the immediate term. Perhaps the much maligned pork barrel funds should be funneled into these drainage and flood control projects considering these are very immediate concerns for a lot of people. It wouldn't take overnight to solve these flooding problems but we need to get a head start and be transparent with the way we implement such projects. A lot of lives are dependent on the success of such projects and this is clear from the images that we get on the news reports about the aftermath and impacts of the storm intensified monsoon rains the past few days.

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