ARE we ready for the next deluge?
This
question comes to the fore anew as the torrential rains induced by the
southwest monsoon (hanging habagat) last week spawned terrible floods
that put major parts of Luzon, including the National Capital Region
(NCR), under several feet or meters of water.
And
as if this were not enough, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and
Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) has issued a warning that
“the worst is yet to come.”
Pagasa Administrator
Nathaniel Servando said that until the end of the year, the Philippines
would continue to experience heavy rains aggravated by severe weather
disturbances.
After
Tropical Storm Gener, the seventh to hit the country in the early week
of August, more typhoons are expected to enter the Philippine Area of
Responsibility, Servando said.
The
Philippines, being in the “typhoon belt,” is hit by an average of 19
weather disturbances in a year. Experts believe these intensifying
typhoons and heavy rains during the wet season and the extreme heat
during the dry months are manifestations of the worst impacts of climate
change.
Last
week’s three days of rain, the official noted, dumped more water than
usual. The rain started on August 6 and continued to pour in huge
volumes until August 8. An estimated 1,000 millimeters of rainwater
doused Luzon during these three wet days.
The rains made rivers, creeks and waterways overflow, causing terrible floods, paralyzing Metro Manila and many parts of Luzon.
Classes
were suspended in all levels almost immediately after the initial
downpour on August 6 because of the flash floods that followed.
Malacañang also issued a work-suspension order covering both public and
private sectors.
Servando said that compared to Ondoy, the duration of last week’s monsoon rains was longer.
“During
Ondoy, the rain lasted only for 24 hours, although the volume of water
was relatively bigger. The southwest monsoon lasted for three days,” he
said.
The official
said that while the weather was expected to improve this weekend,
intermittent rains would still be experienced because of the southwest
monsoon. (As of this writing, Pagasa reported that an active low
pressure area was spotted 1,000 kilometers east of the flood-devastated
Central Luzon.)
Apparently,
the failure of concerned government agencies to improve solid-waste
management and the indiscriminate dumping of garbage caused canals,
creeks and rivers to clog, preventing the natural flow of the
floodwaters to open seas.
Experts
also blamed the flash floods on the poor condition of the country’s
watersheds, particularly the degraded forests that in the past prevented
water in the upland areas from rapidly finding its way to low-lying
areas.
The
Marikina watershed, for instance, a 22-hectare forest, is now badly
degraded. Only an estimated 20-percent forest cover is left after years
of destructive human activities, such as harvesting of wood for fuel and
production of charcoal for commercial purposes.
The
Marikina watershed is supposed to provide natural protection against
flood for Marikina, Quezon City, Pasig City and several towns in the
province of Rizal and low-lying areas that surround it.
During
the three days of heavy rains, all of the country’s dams in Luzon
reached critical, if not spilling levels, forcing authorities to release
huge volumes of water that caused major rivers to overflow their banks,
turning streets and highways into raging rivers.
The
release of water from the dams affected San Manuel, San Nicolas, Tayug,
Santa Maria, Asingan, Villasis, Alcala, Bautista, Rosales and Bayambang
in Pangasinan; and several towns in Isabela, Cabanatuan, La Union,
Bulacan and Rizal.
People
living in the areas near the Ipo, Ambuklao, Binga, San Roque and Magat
dams were also alerted on the possible release of water. So, too, were
those near La Mesa Dam.
Even
some stretches of the North Luzon Expressway were rendered impassable
by the floods; same with some parts of Epifanio de los Santos Avenue
(Edsa) and Quezon and Commonwealth avenues.
Aguinaldo
Highway, a road that connects Cavite to Metro Manila, was also rendered
impassable because of waist-deep flood in the Bacoor, Cavite, area.
Despite
preparations after Ondoy wreaked havoc on the metropolis more than two
years ago, it became apparent that the disaster risk-reduction plans
failed to meet expectations.
According
to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council
(NDRRMC), at least 2.8 million people were affected by the floods that
also left 66 people dead; six persons remain missing.
The
Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) reported that a
total of 460,273 families, or 2.11 million people, in 30 cities in 16
provinces were affected.
More
than half a million people were evacuated and thousands had to be
rescued at the last minute after they stubbornly refused to voluntarily
leave their flooded homes.
The
floods required the use of schools, churches and covered court as
evacuation centers. Based on the DSWD’s count, some 292,800 people were
taken to 488 evacuation centers while 245,636 had to seek shelter in
the houses of friends and relatives.
The floods induced by the monsoon rains and Typhoon Gener also damaged P1.095 billion in farm crops in Central Luzon alone.
So
far, cost of assistance to victims has already reached P126.7 million
and the figure is expected to go up in the coming days as relief
operations continue to provide food, water and medicine to those
affected by the calamity.
In
Bulacan alone, 143 barangays went under water. Close to 3,000 families
were taken to temporary evacuation centers. The provincial government
of Bulacan declared the entire province under state of calamity.
Aside
from Bulacan, Bataan, Pampanga and Zambales in Region 3 and Laguna in
Region 4A; Culion, El Nido and Linacapan in Palawan were also declared
calamity areas.
In
the NCR, areas declared under a state of calamity include Marikina,
Malabon, Navotas, Valenzuela, Muntinlupa, San Juan, Pasig, Pasay,
Caloocan and Pateros.
In
the flood-prone city of Malabon and Valenzuela, local officials sought
the help of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Coast Guard to
provide rubber boats to boost their rescue efforts. Many of those
trapped inside their houses had to swim and stay on top of roofs as
floodwaters reached 4 to 5 meters high in some areas.
Valenzuela
City Mayor Sherwin Gatchalian said the recent flood experienced by the
city’s residents was worse than the flood caused by Ondoy.
Provident
Village in Marikina City, which was devastated by Ondoy in September
2009, as expected, experienced severe floods, trapping many residents
who were unable to evacuate at the last minute. The same was experienced
in Roxas District, Quezon City, which was also submerged by floodwater
during Ondoy.
In
Barangay Commonwealth, Quezon City, nine members of a family were buried
alive in a landslide. More than 10 years ago, experts identified the
area as highly susceptible to landslides.
Local
officials said those trapped and had to be rescued from their flooded
homes refused to heed warnings and advice for them to evacuate to safer
grounds.
Most of those killed were swept away by the raging floodwaters while trying to cross the streets to reach safer ground.
The
NDRRMC said that a total of 3,035 houses were affected in Regions 1, 3,
4A, 4B and 6. Of the number, 358 were destroyed; the rest were
damaged.
Makeshift homes of squatters along esteros and rivers were also washed away by the strong currents.
According
to the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council, in Metro
Manila alone, there are 180,000 squatters living in so-called danger
zones that need to be relocated.
But the Kalipunan ng Damayang Mahihirap (Kadamay) placed the number of people living in “danger zones” to 500,000.
Carlito
Badion, leader of Kadamay, said the situation was “a manifestation of
the failure of the Aquino administration to address the worsening
squatting problem in the country.”
The
habagat will continue to induce rain until September and the forecast
of “severe weather disturbances” may again aggravate the situation,
bringing back the specter of Ondoy-like floods, Servando said.
“The southwest monsoon will continue to induce rain and there’s a possibility of more flooding in the next few days,” he said.
Servando said the monsoon season lasts from June to September.
Connie
Dadiva, of the country’s weather bureau, said this month, three to four
typhoons are expected to hit the country. The same number is expected
in September, after which the northern wind or amihan will start to set
in, shifting rain from Luzon to the Visayas and Mindanao starting in
October.
The
severe floods in areas not normally hit by such geological hazards,
Servando said, is a manifestation of the worst impacts of climate
change, citing, for instance, the recent massive flood experienced in
Beijing, China.
In
the Philippines the change in the weather pattern—excessive and longer
duration of rains during the “wet season” and extreme heat and longer
period of drought during the “dry season”—is a clear manifestation of
climate change, Servando added.
“We need to be prepared for the worst impacts of climate change,” he said.
Servando
called for increased level of area-specific awareness and consciousness
of the various geological hazards, such as flood and landslide.
“The
people should always be on alert. They have to know the risks they are
exposed to in their communities during calamities,” he said.
According
to Servando, proper coordination between concerned national and local
government units and the communities prone to floods and landslides is
imperative to reduce the risk of disaster.
The
Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), meanwhile, said
intensifying typhoons, the longer-than-usual duration of rains, severe
and longer season of drought, are the “new normal” and people have to
adapt to such climate-change impacts.
The
DENR chief said the agency is in the process of creating bigger
geological hazard maps with a scale of 1:10,000 to pinpoint areas that
are prone to floods and landslides in every barangay.
The
current geological hazard map made available as early as 2010 is
smaller, and with a scale of 1:50,000, making it difficult to pinpoint
highly “at risk” areas.
Even
so, however, unless these areas considered “danger zones” are declared
unfit for human settlement, disasters will continue to claim more lives
and destroy millions in crops and private and public property.
In Photo:
This photo released by the Department of National Defense on Wednesday
shows flooded areas in Bulacan and Two parents place their daughters on
a large basin as they move to higher ground to avoid the floods in
Pasig City on Thursday. (AP Photo/Department of National Defense)
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