Up to 265 areas in Davao City have been identified by the City Engineering Office as “severely affected” by street flooding.

According to a report by GMA Super Radyo Davao, Janis Louis Esparcia, officer-in-charge of the City Engineering Office, said during the session of the City Council that 140 of these areas are in the First District, 69 are in the Second District, and 56 in the Third District, based on data from the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO).

Esparcia emphasized the need for long-term solutions to prevent street flooding in the city.

These solutions include expanding the city’s drainage system, adding more inlet, and building retention and detention ponds to hold floodwater.

Additional flood control structures such as box culvert, flood walls, and pumping stations are also needed in coordination with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) under the JICA Flood Mitigation Master Plan.

Aside from this, Esparcia also highlighted the need to strictly enforce the city’s solid waste management system to prevent garbage and debris from clogging canals, which worsens flooding.