Floods strike 2 metro cities
Landslide displaces families near Guadalupe River
This should no longer be taken lightly because the signals are not good – Mayor Michael Rama
Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama says the flood should remind City officials to implement the drainage master plan, move some 4,000 to 6,000 families Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes, in recent inaugural address, vowed to work with other local governments, DPWH to address the flooding
ALONG and heavy downpour Saturday night triggered landslides in two barangays of Cebu City and flooded major city streets in both Cebu and Mandaue cities.
Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama, in a news conference he called last night, said the flood again raised the need to implement the comprehensive drainage master plan of the city. The project cost more than P2 billion.
Aside from that, he said there is a need to evacuate all the 4,000 to 6,000 families living in the danger zones, for their safety.
“This is something that should no longer be taken lightly because the signals are not good,” he said.
The rain dumped an estimated 40 to 50 millimeters of water every hour, a weather bureau official said. That’s about 40 percent of the total rainfall typically recorded in July.
Landslides were recorded in Barangays Kalunasan and Buhisan, said operations officer Alvin Santillana of the Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (LDRRMC).
In Kalunasan, Santillana said, the landslide damaged four houses shared by eight families in Sitio Oprra, particularly at the back of the barangay hall and the Oprra Elementary School. These families live within the three-meter easement of the Guadalupe River.
Viola Escopete, in an interview with Sun.Star Cebu yes-
terday, blamed the road concreting in the area for the landslide. She said the project diverted the water to their area, a problem made worse by the fact that there are no canals.
“Nagkagubot gyud mi diri gabii tungod sa kakusog sa ulan (We panicked that night when it rained so hard),” she said.
Move away
The landslide took out the foundation of the Escopetes’ dining area. The other affected families lost half of their rooms and the walls of their homes.
A landslide was also recorded in Sitio Lokana, also in Kalunasan, which affected one house.
Santillana told Sun. Star Cebu yesterday said it would be proper for officials of Kalunasan to relocate all the families living within the three-meter easement of the river.
He also recommended transferring those located in areas that are landslide-prone.
If the barangay elections push through in October, Santillana said he is asking the public to vote for barangay officials who are vigilant in addressing disasters in their area.
Without specifying Kalunasan, Santillana lamented that there are times when barangay officials do not call and report to the LDRRMC flashfloods or landslides in their communities.
“It is high time we had officials who take proactive measures against disaster,” he said.
Blocked
Aside from Kalunasan, Santillana said a landslide also occurred in the mountain barangay of Buhisan, which affected a road near the barangay hall.
“The landslide caused partial inaccessibility in the area,” said Santillana.
The barangay, he added, has already cleared the area. LDRRMC also sent equipment to fast-track the clearing operations.
Last Saturday night’s heavy downpour, which lasted for almost two hours, also flooded several of Cebu City’s major streets.
Joy Tumulak, head of the operations division of the City Traffic Operations Management (Citom), said many vehicles were stranded, particularly in the North Reclamation Area, as there were other vehicles whose engines conked out, causing gridlock.
The water in the area was knee-deep, he said.
To address the matter, Citom deployed its tow trucks to minimize the inconvenience of the motorists.
Other areas that were flooded included the downtown area, Bonifacio St., P. Del Rosario St., Junquera St., Sanciangko St., some areas in the Cebu Business Park, and the corner of Mactan St. and M.J. Cuenco Ave.
Neck-deep
Also affected by the flood was the house of Citom executive director Atty. Rafael Yap on Pope John Paul II Ave. (formerly Juan Luna Ave.) in Barangay Mabolo.
Yap said the water level in their area was neck-deep, inundating the whole ground floor of their two-storey home.
In the 30 years he has lived there, Yap said, it was the first time he experienced a neck-deep flood.
Because of the water pressure, the concrete wall that separated Yap’s house from that of their neighbor collapsed.
The lawyer had to contact a private company to suck the water out from his home.
The flood damaged the appliances on their first floor as well as their family vehicle and his Cityissued vehicle.
In Mandaue City, the downpour caused kneedeep floods on Highway Seno and waist-deep floods on A.S. Fortuna, specifically in the Rolling Hills area in Barangay Banilad.
Jason Limpag, emergency medical responder of the City’s Accident Control and Emergency Rescue Team (Acert), said no creek overflowed.
But past 7 p.m. last Saturday, traffic was stalled for about an hour on Lopez Jaena St., in the boundary of Barangays Tipolo and Subangdaku, because of knee-deep floods.
Barangays
In the Rolling Hills area, thigh-deep floods also caused inconvenience to motorists and pedestrians.
Gary Frank Gonzalez, an office aide of Acert, said no untoward inci- dents were reported. He said the Acert monitors the city around the clock and is ready to respond to any disasters.
“But our first responders are the disaster brigades in the barangays,” he said in a phone interview.
Acert has two speedboats and 33 rescuers, he said. Personnel assigned in the office can be sent to the field, if the need arises.
Gonzalez advised City residents to keep themselves alert against floods.
Mayor Jonas Cortes earlier vowed to work with the Department of Public Works and Highways to rehabilitate the city’s drains.
In his recent inaugural address, Cortes said the local government units of Metro Cebu should work together to address flooding. He said most of the rainwater runoff that causes floods in Mandaue comes from Cebu City.
Localized
What caused last Saturday’s heavy rain?
An official of the weather bureau’s Mactan station said those were just “localized rains” caused by an intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ).
In an interview yesterday, Oscar Tabada of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said the ITCZ affected parts of the Visayas and Mindanao.
An ITCZ develops when the northeast and southeast trade winds meet.
Tabada, Pagasa Mactan’s chief weather specialist, said that in an ITCZ, cumulonimbus clouds formed in affected areas cause occasional rainshowers and thunderstorms, and in some cases, localized rains.
He added that while heavy rains brought about by an ITCZ are normal during the rainy season, the floods they cause have worsened over the years.