Floods reset drainage dredging in Mandaue

CEBU, Philippines - Just as the Mandaue City government was scheduled to start the drainage and canal dredging on Monday, a heavy downpour inundated some of the city’s major thoroughfares.

Mayor Gabriel Luis Quisumbing said they were scheduled on Monday to also start flushing the drainage on the assumption that summer time is here.

 “We were hoping that we could use the good weather to be able to dredge the waterways, dredge the canals, Butuanon river and flushing the existing drainage pero, mother nature, kusog kaayo ang uwan,” said Quisumbing during the 888 News Forum yesterday.

 Describing it as terrible, Quisumbing said heavy rains came when the Department of Public Works and Highways has ongoing project along A.C. Cortes Avenue up to the Mandaue-Mactan Bridge where drainage was closed to repair section of it.

 Bad weather is still expected until today prompting the rescheduling of the dredging works on Friday in coordination with the DPWH, said Quisumbing.

 Quisumbing explained that DPWH has better equipment to decongest drainage systems in the city that are blocked by around 70 percent already.

 “Di na gyud na mada sa equipment sa city, we need sa stronger, more powerful sa equipment sa DPWH,” he said.

 After four hours of rain Monday, several areas in Metro Cebu were flooded and traffic congestion worsened in major thoroughfares in the cities of Mandaue, Lapu-Lapu and Cebu.

 Knee-deep flood slowed down traffic, particularly at the foot of the Mandaue-Mactan Bridge in Barangay Looc, as well as in Barangay Tipolo and on A. C. Cortes Avenue in Mandaue City.

 Quisumbing also disclosed that the local government has allocated P4 million for the drainage master plan for Mandaue City which is now with the Bids and Awards Committee.

“Gikinahanglan na gyud ang master plan for drainage because we cannot solve drainage by instituting stop gap solutions,” he said.

 At least seven barangays in Mandaue City have been identified as flood-prone areas, including Subangdaku, Mantuyong, Umapad, Opao, Alang-Alang, Guizo and Paknaan.

 The city’s drainage master plan also identified 54 flood-prone areas, 32 of which are major roads, including A.S. Fortuna Street, Hernan Cortes Street, M.C. Briones and national highways in Subangdaku.

 Since the two major rivers of Butuanon and Mahiga pass through Mandaue, the city easily gets flooded during heavy rains. (FREEMAN)