Flood halts EDSA traffic

MANILA, Philippines — Thousands of motorists and commuters were inconvenienced yesterday morning due to floods, caused by a heavy downpour, which brought vehicular traffic along EDSA to a standstill.

Bong Nebrija, supervising operations officer of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), said that around 5,000 motorists were compelled to stop at the EDSA-Santolan intersection as floodwaters reached at least eight to 12 inches deep.

Motorists did not attempt to pass through the flooded intersection after noticing a taxi stalled in the middle, the MMDA’s Metrobase reported.

Nebrija said EDSA’s northbound lane appeared to become a 10-kilometer garage as the traffic gridlock started from Camp Aguinaldo’s Gate 3 to Magallanes in Makati City.

Asked what caused the flooding, Nebrija said they learned that plastic waste clogged inlets in the area.

He also said they are looking into the possibility that the Camp Aguinaldo golf course released water from its retarding basin, causing nearby drains to overflow.

Aside from EDSA, Nebrija said most of the areas that experienced flooding yesterday were in Quezon City, including Talayan, Araneta Avenue and some portions of Santolan.

Meanwhile, Renato Solidum, Science and Technology undersecretary for disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation, said yesterday’s floods raised the need to check the capacity of the metropolis’ drainage system to “accommodate rainwater in huge volumes.”  – Louise Maureen Simeon, Rainier Allan Ronda