Luzon floods can be avoidable
I was horrified by the news on the flooding that wrecked most of Luzon over the weekend. Many towns and barangays, even cities, became virtual lakes. The southwest moonson rains (habagat) dumped the unimaginable volume of water, exceeded only by the horrendous downpour from typhoon Ondoy. Classes had to be suspended; transportation grounded to a halt. The citizenry suffered; our economy crawled. As floods began to recede, we also started to realize the damage on the homes and farms of those afflicted. Many government infrastructures were laid to waste.
More than gasp at the cataclysm, Cebu City officials had to put their savvy together to steer our city from a similar catastrophe. The lessons from the disastrous Luzon floods are real, and actions arising therefrom are urgently needed. Did our elected leaders shout, “I will serve the people,” during the campaign? Instead of debating over the Kawit deal — which imagined future benefit is suspected to be pushed by something known to the real estate industry as commission— our mayor and the City Council should busy themselves with preparing the city against these environmental depredations. It’s time they contribute their geniuses in adopting plans to make sure that our city will be spared from the challenges of climate change. As a resident, may I suggest some talking points? I have to admit these are rather crude ideas. But, just the same, here are short and long term projects our leaders can start with and improve on.
Short term items: I mean projects that have to be done as soon as possible. Since PAGASA forecasts an El Niño phenomenon to happen this year, we can say that we may have good weather cooperating. Let the city dredge all our waterways; so much silt on our rivers and esteros reduces the volume of water to flow through. The bed of the estero at the back of T. Padilla Public Market, for example, was concreted. Let the dredging touch the cemented bed and restore this estero to its original depth.
There are no more visible easements along our waterways. The Marikina experience last week showed that the homes built by informal settlers on the easements contributed greatly to the flooding, as these structures impeded the free flow of water. There are similar structures covering Cebu City’s river banks. The obvious action that is called for is to transfer these settlers to other areas so that the river banks can be cleared of obstructions. I am certain that this move can affect some sectors in our society’s lower strata, but general welfare to the greater mass must prevail.
A long term issue: There is worldwide problem of deforestation. Cebu City’s mountains have likewise been rendered bald by man’s economic undertaking. There are no more trees to retain the water when it rains. It may be late in time, but still the need to reforest our mountains is urgent. The city leadership has to put in place a viable program that transcends the time when young seedlings are planted up to the age that their survival as trees is certain.
Can we expect that our officials do something to prevent our city from suffering from the same kind of disaster that visited Luzon last weekend?
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