SUN RISES ON METROPOLIS / PHL FLOODS MAN-MADE
DISASTER - EXPERTS
[PHOTO -MARIKINA NIGHTMARE An aerial shot of the swollen Marikina River
taken on Wednesday and released by the Department of National Defense. More than
a million people in and around Metro Manila battled deadly floods as monsoon
rains poured endlessly for days trapping both slum dwellers and the wealthy on
rooftops in neck-deep waters. AFP/DND]
MANILA, AUGUST 11, 2012 (INQUIRER) By Jeannette I. Andrade, Kristine
L. Alave - As the skies cleared and the sun shone for the first time in days,
the weather bureau on Thursday lifted the heavy rainfall warning in Metro
Manila.
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services
Administration (Pagasa) said it was expecting a gradual improvement in the
weather toward the weekend as the "habagat" (southwest monsoon) continued to
weaken.
For good measure, Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Tagle issued an "oratio
imperata," a special prayer for protection from the threat of calamities.
Tagle asked the faithful to implore God to stop the rains that had flooded
and paralyzed Metro Manila the past several days.
The monsoon rains, which dumped about 300 mm (12 inches)—or three times the
daily average—from late Monday to Tuesday, were the heaviest in three years,
Pagasa said.
Characteristic of monsoon
It said thunderstorms would continually bring intermittent rains over Luzon
from late afternoon to dawn.
Weather forecaster Fernando Cada said intermittent rains, a characteristic of
the monsoon, were previously enhanced by a shallow low pressure area as well as
by Typhoon "Gener" and Tropical Storm "Haikui," which dumped a large volume of
rain on large swathes of Luzon over the past two weeks.
"There is currently no weather system that could enhance the southwest
monsoon. But we have observed rain clouds on the Doppler radar and satellite
images over the West Philippine Sea that have not dissipated despite dumping
rains in Central Luzon, Metro Manila and portions of southern Luzon," Cada said.
He explained that the rain clouds normally would have dissipated but they had
not expected it would bring bursts of downpour over some areas in Luzon.
While generally good weather is expected over the weekend, conditions in the
country would gradually improve except in Luzon particularly in the Ilocos
provinces, La Union, Pangasinan, Zambales, Pampanga, Bataan and Bulacan where
moderate to occasional frequent rains were expected.
Cada said residents in Zambales and Pampanga should be on alert for lahar
flows because of the rains.
He said floods and landslides in low-lying areas and river channels were
possible so residents were advised to take precautionary measures.
At around 12:20 p.m. Thursday the Pagasa lifted the heavy rainfall warning
over Metro Manila after light to moderate rainfall (1 mm to 7 mm per hour) was
observed from 10 a.m. to noon.
The weather bureau, however, said that residents in Caloocan, Malabon and
Navotas cities were still advised to expect the possible occurrence of
thunderstorms, which might bring moderate to heavy rain.
Beseeching God
In a statement, Tagle requested Catholics to "pray kneeling down the
following Oratio Imperata in our Masses (after the Post Communion Prayer), Holy
Hours, celebration of the Liturgy of the Hours and the praying of the rosary."
Tagle's prayer, which beseeches God to stop the heavy rains, also carries a
message: It reminds Filipinos that the abuses they heaped on the environment was
responsible for the disaster.
Tagle's prayer, called "Oratio Imperata for the Deliverance from Calamities,"
read: "We have not been good stewards of Nature. We have confused Your command
to subdue the earth. The environment is made to suffer our wrongdoing, and now
we reap the harvest of our abuse and indifference."
Classes still suspended
Msgr. Joselito Asis, secretary of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the
Philippines, said there was a need for prayer to give people strength and
comfort as they rebuild their lives in the aftermath of the disasters spawned by
a storm and heavy rains the past weeks.
Classes in all levels in public schools in Manila, however, are still
suspended Friday as the city's major thoroughfares are still flooded, but work
in City Hall will resume, Mayor Alfredo Lim said.
Lim said Lagusnilad, the underpass in front of City Hall that was filled with
at least 16 feet of water Thursday, would be passable Friday.
The Recto Avenue underpass, where water was estimated to reach 20 feet, will
be open to motorists in two or three days, the mayor said.
Lim said the city was placed in a state of calamity to allow barangay leaders
access to calamity funds.
Still in disbelief
As the sun began to peek Thursday, Crisell Beltran was still in disbelief at
how so much damage was left behind.
"Was there really no storm, with this kind of flooding?" asked the barangay
captain of Bagong Silangan in Quezon City.
Told that it was indeed a nameless monsoon that dumped rains since Monday
night, Beltran quipped: "Then what a traitor it was."
She had her hands full since Tuesday, with thousands of persons who fled from
perilous floods.
Some low-lying areas of the community, like Sitio Clemencia, Gawad Kalinga
and Tagumpay, were still submerged in muddy waters.
Floods in those areas reached more than 15 feet, Beltran said. With reports from Nancy C. Carvajal and Julie M. Aurelio
Philippine floods a man-made disaster—experts By
Mynardo Macaraig Agence France-Presse
[PHOTO -Shanties built along the bank of the river are
submerged under flood water as a river overflows in suburban Cainta City, east
of Manila, Philippines, Thursday, Aug. 9, 2012. A government report released in
2009 called for 2.7 million people in shantytowns to be moved from "danger
zones" alongside riverbanks, lakes and sewers. But squatter communities in
danger zones have in fact grown since 2009. AP /PAT
ROQUE ]
MANILA, Philippines—Deadly floods that have swamped nearly all of the
Philippine capital are less a natural disaster and more the result of poor
planning, lax enforcement and political self-interest, experts say.
Damaged watersheds, massive squatter colonies living in danger zones and the
neglect of drainage systems are some of the factors that have made the chaotic
city of 15 million people much more vulnerable to enormous floods.
Urban planner Nathaniel Einseidel said the Philippines had enough technical
know-how and could find the necessary financing to solve the problem, but there
was no vision or political will.
"It's a lack of appreciation for the benefits of long-term plans. It's a
vicious cycle when the planning, the policies and enforcement are not very well
synchronized," said Einseidel, who was Manila's planning chief in1979-89.
"I haven't heard of a local government, a town or city that has a
comprehensive drainage masterplan."
Eighty percent of Manila was this week covered in waters that in some parts
were nearly two meters (six feet and six inches) deep, after more than a normal
August's worth of rain was dumped on the city in 48 hours.
Twenty people have died and two million others have been affected, according
to the government.
The deluge was similar to one in 2009, a disaster that claimed more than 460
lives and prompted pledges from government leaders to make the city more
resistant to floods.
A government report released then called for 2.7 million people in
shantytowns to be moved from "danger zones" alongside riverbanks, lakes and
sewers.
Squatters, attracted by economic opportunities in the city, often build
shanties on river banks, storm drains and canals, dumping garbage and impeding
the flow of waterways.
The plan would have affected one in five Manila residents and taken 10 years
and P130 billion ($3.11 billion) to implement.
But squatter communities in danger zones have in fact grown since 2009.
"With the increasing number of people occupying danger zones, it is
inevitable there are a lot people who are endangered when these things happen,"
Einseidel said.
He blamed the phenomenon on poor enforcement of regulations banning building
along creeks and floodways, with local politicians often wanting to keep
squatters in their communities to secure their votes at election time.
Meanwhile, on the outskirts of Manila, vital forested areas have been
destroyed to make way for housing developments catering to growing middle and
upper classes, according to architect Paulo Alcazaren.
Alcazeren, who is also an urban planner, said the patchwork political
structure of Manila had made things even harder.
The capital is actually made up of 16 cities and towns, each with its own
government, and they often carry out infrastructure programs – such as man-made
and natural drainage protection – without coordination.
"Individual cities can never solve the problem. They can only mitigate. If
you want to govern properly, you must re-draw or overlay existing political
boundaries," he said.
Solutions to the flooding will require massive efforts such as re-planting in
natural drainage basins, building low-cost housing for the squatters and
clearing man-made drainage systems, the experts said.
"It will cost billions of pesos but we lose billions anyway every time it
floods," Alcazeren said.
Meanwhile, with Environment Secretary Ramon Paje warning that intense rains
like those this week will become the "new normal" due to climate change, there
have been concerns about the city's ability to lure and keep foreign investors.
However, American Chamber of Commerce president Rhicke Jennings said Manila
remained an attractive destination.
"Companies will continue to invest in the Philippines for all its positive
qualities," he said, citing well-trained Filipino staff and pointing out there
were key parts of the city with good infrastructure that did not badly flood.
Jennings highlighted the rise of the outsourcing sector in the Philippines as
evidence that foreigners would not abandon the country because of floods.
Companies such as JP Morgan, Deutsche Bank and Accenture have all set up
backroom operations in recent years, mostly in slick new parts of Manila where
infrastructure is state-of-the-art and which did not flood this week.
From virtually nothing a decade ago, 600,000 people are now employed in the
outsourcing sector and the industy is expecting that number to more than double
by 2016 as more foreign firms move in.
Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
© Copyright, 2012 by PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE
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