Immediate action to address flooding

WITH an average of 20 typhoons a year, the 100 million people of the Philippines are vulnerable to natural calamities. In order to avoid catastrophic aftermaths, everyone should be equipped with the right information on how to plan and prepare without being dependent on the government.

We all have been a witness to devastating effects of nature when a city is caught unprepared. We saw what happened if structures cannot withstand strong typhoons (Yolanda), and saw where the water went when our flood control and drainage systems can no longer accommodate the volume of water brought by rain (Ondoy and Habagat). During Ondoy, more than 4,000 cubic meters per second flowed down from the denuded mountains when the capacity of Pasig River is only 600 cubic meters. This resulted in the flooding of 80,000 hectares of urban land in Metro Manila and Laguna lakeshore communities.