Marikina, Dagupan, and Palo, Leyte all did it. So why can’t the rest of the country? Strategies for mitigating damage from severe floods pursued by a few cities and towns in the Philippines are showcased as possible models for disaster risk reduction (DRR) discussed in a recently released guidebook on flood risk management in East Asia and Pacific countries. The report, which reads like a “best practices” manual for policy makers, provides guidance on how communities can better address the risk of floods now getting more destructive in the face of rising urbanization, growing populations and long-term climate change trends. This “serious and growing development challenge” of urban flooding now calls for the introduction of integrated flood risk management schemes into regular planning of cities and towns in East Asia’s low and middle income countries, according to the guidebook which was produced by the World Bank. The 638-page guidebook, “Cities and Flooding: A Guide to Integrated Urban Flood Risk Management for the 21st Century”, is based on research by the World Bank’s own staff as well as recent literature on the topic. Case studies featuring the impacts of a few Philippine initiatives—the ‘Save the Marikina River’ Project, the early warning systems in Binahaan in Leyte and in Dagupan City, an integrated disaster risk reduction project in Palo City, and multi-stakeholder collaborative undertakings in Metro Manila—are cited to illustrate a range of policy areas that the report says are key to such integrated plans on flood risk management. Urban rehabilitation The ‘Save the Marikina River’ project, says the study, provides “a useful illustration” of the effects of urban rehabilitation on urban flood risk management. “Urban rehabilitation can form part of urban flood risk management schemes and help cities adapt to long term changes, to correct past mistakes and to increase flood resilience,” the guidebook says. Following decades of encroachment by new settlers and becoming a disposal basin for an assortment of household and industrial waste, the Marikina River suffered significant environmental degradation and increasing flood risk. The local government, aiming to rehabilitate the Pasig River tributary, launched in 1993 the ‘Save the Marikina River’ project, which also included the development of a large recreational area for Marikina City. The project included such key measures as: removing informal settlements, commercial buildings and other industries from the riverside and providing alternative sites for the resettled families; implementing a strict waste disposal policy; and dredging the river regularly. One of the results of the program is the reduced levels flood waters which also recede faster, a factor being noted for the recent rise in property tax revenues in the formerly flood-prone communities. However, water quality and the inflow of garbage from upstream areas still remain to be resolved, the study pointed out. Palo: An example of good practice The disaster risk reduction (DRR) in Palo City in Leyte is cited in the World Bank guidebook as “an example of good practice” which demonstrates the way in which DRR can be “successfully incorporated into a municipality’s Annual Investment Program”. The report noted that the Palo project even includes the provision of safe and potable water to households during floods and the construction of school buildings that can also be used as evacuation centers. Floods inundate 12 of the 33 barangays in Palo twice a year, in some places reaching as high as 3 meters, causing not just deaths by drowning and floodwater-borne diseases and drinking water problems but also extended adverse effects on the living conditions and livelihoods of local communities. In determining appropriate flood risk management measures and integrating these into development planning and budgeting of the barangays, the Palo initiative undertook participatory assessments of hazard, vulnerability and capacity levels. The assessment process discovered a number of challenges: weak barangay disaster coordinating councils; houses made of inadequate and flimsy materials and in hazard-prone locations; inadequate source of drinking water; absence of water-sealed latrines; eroded or unstable riverbanks; and clogged waterways and drainage systems. After the assessment process, the World Bank study says, “the most appropriate measures and potential sources of funding were identified and responsibilities were allocated among the relevant administrative bodies.” Dagupan: Community resilience Similarly noted as “a successful example of community resilience to flood and tropical cyclone disasters” is Dagupan City’s experience. “It is one of the few cities that mainstreamed DRR into local governance,” says the report. It adds that the Dagupan case illustrates the “significance of setting up an operational early warning system (EWS) and evacuation plan, as a mechanism to draw people together in pursuit of collective action towards building safe and resilient communities.” Indigenous knowledge is combined with modern scientific wisdom and equipment for use in disaster risk reduction, the report says of the Dagupan EWS. Together with modern staff gauges installed in strategic locations around the city, the use of ‘kanungkong’ as flood markers is a feature of the Dagupan EWS that apparently excited the guidebook’s authors. The ‘kanungkong’ is a bamboo instrument, which was traditionally used to call community members to assemble at the village hall for meetings, alert people or call children home, says the study. There are other conclusions noted by the guidebook from the Dagupan initiative:
- “Early warning systems are more effective if individuals and groups understand the benefits of such systems.
- “Community involvement in EWS development leads to systems that respond more quickly.
- “Drills can test plans and show strengths and weaknesses.
- “The simulation exercise helped each sector involved to share their knowledge and skills in preparedness and response, through allowing others to witness, impart comments, and eventually replicate this kind of endeavor.”
Also catching the eye of the World Bank report’s authors is the early warning system in the remote communities of Binahaan River in Leyte for its simplicity but effectiveness in saving lives and reducing other adverse impacts of floods. Since the system became operational in 2009, the level of damage from floods has gone down due to the warning system which triggered timely deployment of boats for evacuation, according to reports cited by the guidebook. “The purpose of early warning systems (EWS) is simple,” says the guidebook. “They exist to give advance notice of an impending flood, allowing emergency plans to be put into action. EWS, when used appropriately, can save lives and reduce other adverse impacts.”
Collaboration in Metro Manila In the highly urbanized national capital, the World Bank study cites “multi-stakeholder collaboration” among the governments of the 17 cities and municipalities that comprise Metro Manila, of which a large area lies along the Pasig River and its tributaries. Memories of the severe flooding in late 2009 caused by typhoons ‘Ondoy’ and ‘Pepeng’ remain etched in the minds of the nearly 20 million people living in Metro Manila. Catastrophic floods caused by epic rains from the typhoons resulted in over 460 deaths as well as losses and damage to property that some estimates place at close to P200 billion. A year later, in September 2010, the mayors of all Metro Manila cities adopted an “Estero Declaration” that affirmed their “commitment to protect Metro Manila’s waterways, control environmental pollution and prevent the recurrence of flooding.” The cities instituted strict anti-littering ordinances and pledged to clean and dredge esteros, creeks and other waterways in their respective areas. The mayors also bared support for campaigns to dismantle and remove all structures, constructions, and other encroachments along waterways and help relocate informal settlements in coordination with the national government agencies. Also in 2010, the cities of Pasig, Marikina, Antipolo and the municipalities of Cainta, San Mateo and Rodriguez signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the “Formation of the Marikina Watershed Environs Integrated Resource Development Alliance” aimed to restore, protect and preserve the Marikina watershed and its environs. The pact, which later came to be called the “Alliance of Six”, subsequently gained the support of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) by mobilizing various sectors—civic and business organizations, faithbased organizations, non-government and community organizations—within the Marikina watershed to initiate action on disaster preparedness and disaster risk reduction. The private sector also stepped into the picture, with one firm pledging financial support in the cleaning of the local drainage systems, and later two construction companies saying they would make available heavy equipment for dredging waterways, esteros and canals—either free of charge, or under a “borrow now, pay later” arrangement.
Looking farther upstream Sometimes, managing sites upstream of urban areas, instead of resolving blight in the cities, can also do the trick. River floodplains within or immediately upstream of urban areas can be managed as periodic wetlands to allow for diversion or natural flooding, providing storage in the floodplain, thereby easing the flooding peaks of the river system, says the guidebook. A good example of this approach, says the study, can be found on the Agusan River in Mindanao. The city of Butuan lies at the mouth of the river and is at risk from flooding from both the river as well as the sea. Located upstream of Butuan is the Agusan wetland, whose water level is now managed in relation to flooding patterns. Between the wet and dry seasons, the difference in water levels in the wetland area is kept at about six meters. The Agusan wetland is now the most important freshwater site in the country. Its indigenous inhabitants, the study notes, have adapted their way of life to cope with such a wide seasonal range in flooding, living on floating homes and carrying out seasonal fishing.
Gathering data As appreciation of the threats of floods increases, there is also a growing need for flood data for either modeling or analysis. There is now a practice of collaboration in gathering weather-related information that includes quantitative data exemplified by hydro-meteorological trends, and qualitative data such as descriptions of the type of areas affected, depth, and velocity. The Manila Observatory, which is now among institutions employing collaborative data collection, has developed an interactive map showing flood depths noted in various locations in the city, notes the World Bank report. The most important component of this project, says the report, is that “everyone living in the flood-affected areas was requested to collect the flood data and submit it online.” The collected data is used to validate flood simulations and identify future floods in Manila. This has inspired at least one other similar collaborative data collection undertaking, a platform set up by the National Institute of Geological Studies at the University of the Philippines College of Science that is said to allow reporting across the country. When even large spending is not enough Amid all this positive view of flood risk mitigation practices in the Philippines, the recent experience of the Camanava area—composed of the cities of Caloocan, Malabon, Navotas, and Valenzuela that are all situated near the sea—demonstrates that much still needs to be done. Flood risk in the area is high and increasing, the World Bank report says, adding that even small rises in relative sea level translates into large inland encroachments. The area, which was severely hit by typhoons ‘Ondoy’ and ‘Pepeng’ in 2009, is facing a sea level rise estimated at one to three millimeters per year due to global warming. Land subsidence, caused by excessive groundwater extraction, is also said to be lowering the land surface by several centimeters to more than a decimeter per year. A flood protection project has been initiated by the Camanava governments designed to pump floodwater out into the sea. However, it is already recognized that in extreme conditions, sustained southerly winds can raise sea level significantly for days, which will render the 8.6-km long and 2-m high structure ineffective. Even discounting storm waves, the World Bank guidebook says, surges driven by typhoon winds can reach sea level to overtop this height. Changes to the original plans have been blamed for recent flooding. Further, delays have been caused to the project by funding difficulties and the need to resettle residents to facilitate construction may also have contributed. “This example illustrates the fact that even with significant investment of $100 million or more, flood risk can be reduced but not completely eliminated. Further measures will still be needed to address this residual risk,” the study points out. —
OMG/HS/TJD, GMA News 
GMA Brandtalk
Tracking
Archives
