‘CDO flood control project failed’

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Philippines – The main flood control project here did not serve its purpose when torrential rains poured on Monday afternoon, an official admitted yesterday.

 “It was designed to hold more water, but it failed. It was not an isolated incident though, because flood was all over the city, not just along the national highway,” Arthur Cupay, planning and design chief of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) in Northern Mindanao, said yesterday, referring to the Bitan-ag Creek.           

The creek, which drains into Macalajar Bay, is one of the major waterways in this city. It cuts across residential and business districts from Barangay Camaman-an, Cogon Market, Limketkai Center and Agora Market to Barangay Lapasan. It is also the main drainage system of the Cogon Market, Osmeña street,  provincial capitol compound, Ramonal Village, Barangay Nazareth and a portion of Divisoria.

The DPWH recently completed an elevated bridge and ramp over the creek.

Cupay said the amount of rainfall, which at 160 millimeters in six hours was only 20 mms less than the rains that Typhoon Sendong dumped in 2011, was another factor. The typhoon left over 1,000 people dead and 1,500 others missing.

Cupay said garbage, which clogged the creek, compounded the problem, causing “dam-like” flow of water and mud into the national highway.

Cagayan de Oro City second district Rep. Maxi Rodriguez said a drainage project along the national highway amounting to P1.2 billion is expected to solve flooding in the city.

Part of the project is the construction of a subterranean canal that is 600 meters wide under Agora road.

Improved weather

Meanwhile, residents of Cagayan de Oro City and other areas in Northern Mindanao and the Visayas can expect  improved weather as the tail-end of a cold front and a low-pressure area that spawned torrential rains on Monday have weakened.

 Rene Paciente, senior weather forecaster of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), said they have not monitored any weather disturbance that could affect the country in the next few days. 

However, PAGASA said the Visayas, Mindanao and Palawan could still experience cloudy skies with light to moderate rains and isolated thunderstorms in the next 24 hours. – With Helen Flores