THE NUMBER of families affected by monsoon rains continues to rise even as floodwater began to subside yesterday. The capital saw some sunshine for the first time after four days of torrential rains that caused massive floodings in Metro Manila and surrounding provinces.
Data from the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) showed that 454,093 families (or 1.9 million individuals) were affected by torrential rains, up from 303,000 on Wednesday.
Of the total affected, 111,079 families (538,445 persons) were sheltered in evacuation centers in Metro Manila, Regions I, III, IV-A, IV-B and VI, the NDRRMC said in a bulletin. Nineteen persons were reported dead, while four remain missing.
The number of damaged houses also increased to 3,035 from 535 a day before. Of these, 358 were totally destroyed while 2,677 were partially damaged.
As of yesterday afternoon, a total of 89 cities and municipalities from NCR, Regions I, III and IV-A are severely flooded. Most of the reported areas are from Region IV-A (21 municipalities) and NCR (15 cities and one municipality).
At least P126.7 million worth of assistance has been disbursed to affected families, the NDRRMC said.
A state of calamity was declared in Marikina, Malabon, Navotas, Valenzuela, Muntinlupa, San Juan, Pasig, Pasay, Caloocan and Pateros.
Bataan, Pampanga, Zambales, Bulacan, Laguna, Culion, El Nido and Linacapan in Palawan were also placed in a state of calamity.
Meanwhile, the government is working on a comprehensive plan that will integrate the various existing flood control schemes for Metro Manila. “We want to make sure that long-term solutions to flooding will start soon,” President Benigno S. C. Aquino III said during his relief operations yesterday.
The comprehensive plan includes a P13-billion Marikina dam that will control the surge of water from the highlands. P9 billion will be allotted for dredging and the creation of retarding basins, empty artificial lakes that will absorb and contain excess water during periods of heavy rain fall.
An P18.7-billion road ring project in the Laguna lake is also in the works, Mr. Aquino said, noting that it can be funded through the public-private partnership initiative. “We hope to finish the projects in two to three years,” Secretary Ramon “Ricky” A. Carandang of the Presidential Communication Development and Strategic Planning Office said by phone yesterday.
Source: Noemi M. Gonzales, BusinessWorld (9 August 2012)
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