Baha na naman! (There's a flood again!)

The rains brought about by tropical storm Enteng yesterday brought misery to a lot of people due to the floods in many places particularly in the greater Metro Manila area (or NCR plus as some people now call it). I am not stranger to floods. My parents' home in Cainta has experienced frequent flooding during the wet season since the 1980s. We endured this with only a few years since then when floods weren't so severe. People actually welcomed the typhoons that brought strong winds than those with torrential rains because homes were sturdy enough to withstand the winds. The floods were more undesirable and led to more damage and health risks.

Fast forward to the present and the floods are still there and seem to be more frequent considering the heavier rainfalls we are experiencing even without storms or typhoons. Habagat or the monsoon rains now regularly pour more than enough water to lead to flash floods. Clearly, the drainage cannot handle the runoff and the more intense rains from storms or typhoons often mean deeper floods that take time to subside. National and local governments have failed to address this with engineering solutions and turn a blind eye or are just plain ignorant about the impacts of developments such as residential subdivisions and commercial establishments that tend to reduce waterways and increase runoff (sementado na lahat!)

Resident wading in knee-deep floodwaters - photo from my brother from the balcony of his room at the 2F of our parents' home in Cainta

There's a buzz again about flood control projects considering the floods we've experienced this wet season. If you're on social media, I'm sure there's also a flood (pun intended) of opinions on the matter. Suddenly, we have all these experts (or maybe influencers?) posting here and there about their ideas, many bordering on pseudo science or perhaps some sort of conspiracy theory type. How can we move forward on this issue that affects a lot of people (e.g., classes and government work have been suspended in Metro Manila and CALABARZON for two days now)?

-