Council asked to solve Kasambagan flooding

CEBU - Residents near the riverbank of barangay Kasambagan are asking the Cebu City government to help them solve the constant flooding in their area during heavy downpours.

Aside from the problem of flooding, the residents of sitios Kimwa, Corinthian, Roga subdivision and Sta. Lucia village said the creek in their area needs dredging.

Now they are asking Councilor Edgardo Labella for help. They said that last March 31, Joel Dimiao was swept away by the strong current while attempting to cross the bridge during a flashflood.

Dimiao was one of the hundreds of residents of sitio Paray who use the Kimwa access road as their means of going to Hernan Cortes Street.

Labella said this access road traverses through a flat concrete bridge that links barangay Kasambagan in Cebu City and Subangdaku, Mandaue City.

But the creek would oftentimes overflow deeply when there is heavy rain, resulting to flooding.

The residents claimed that the creek needs to be dredged because it now looks like an ordinary roadside drainage.

“The deep overflowing waters make it impossible for us to cross the bridge. It forces us to spend hours waiting for the water to subside. This situation causes significant risks to the lives and properties of the residents when there are urgent needs,” the residents said in a letter sent to City Hall.

They, however, said their problem could not be solved right away because the solution may require a widening of the creek down to the Subangdaku River or a construction of a more efficient bridge.

The City Council already approved the resolution of Labella urging the Department of Engineering and Public Works (DEPW) to conduct a detailed program of works and estimate on the dredging of the creek. — Rene U. Borromeo/LPM (THE FREEMAN)