After flashfloods No help for those living along city's riverbanks

CEBU, Philippines - In light of the flashfloods that hit some parts of barangays Guadalupe and Sapangdaku the other day, the Cebu City’s Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (CDRRMC) yesterday advised the people living along the riverbanks to evacuate immediately during heavy rainfalls.

Those who claimed they were affected by the flashflood can not expect financial assistance from the City Hall. Extending aid might give them the impression that the government gave its consent for them to continue living in danger zone.

“If the government would help them, it would be unfair to the people who abide by the law. And here comes these people who continue to ignore the government’s warnings. We give assistance but only to the qualified. But now, they’re not qualified,” he said.

“We urge residents living along the riverbanks, even those who have not experienced being flooded, to seek higher grounds if they notice that the river is about to swell. You don’t need us from the government to tell you when to evacuate. You yourselves are responsible for your own lives,” said Alvin Santillana, head of the CDRRMC, in an interview.

Santillana said it is not everytime that the government can immediately dispatch its rescue teams to transfer all the residents to safer grounds, and it is especially difficult if the catastrophe happens during nighttime.

He said that in the first place, his office has repeatedly warned these families that they are living in a danger zone, and that they should seek another area but it appears that their warnings have fallen on deaf ears.

He said in 2004, there were about 5,000 families, mostly informal settlers, that lived along the riverbanks of the city. He believes the number has grown over the last eight years judging from the new structures being seen there.

Santillana said since 2005, “danger zone” signboards have been placed along the riverbanks in hopes to remind these people to transfer, yet these signs were reportedly removed. Last year, another batch of signages were installed as a constant reminder of how perilous living along the waterways is, but either these were ignored or removed, he said.

Santillana said they have done their part, hence, these people should not blame the government when natures strike them.

Santillana said that the month of September, as per records of PAGASA, has the highest volume of rainfall, and this could mean flood. He warned the public especially those living in the danger zones and in the low-lying areas to be vigilant.

“Kontra karon sa tawo ang nature. But it’s a tandem, if there’s a flood, for example, it’s both manmade and a natural disaster. Manmade because man insists to live along the riverbanks where water sometimes flow even beyond the three-meter easement,” he said.

“It’s a wrong notion for us to say that people were affected by the rivers. It’s the river that was affected by the people. It overflew because we can’t dredge, our equipment can no longer pass because of the houses along the banks,” he said.

Meanwhile, Santillana said those who claimed they were affected by the flashflood can not expect financial assistance from the City Hall, as it may be construed as the government’s consenting them to continue living in the riverbanks. This may invite other families to join them if the City Hall would just easily help them during times like what happened the other day, he said.

Santillana said a few hours from the flashflood, the residents had returned to their homes. But he said they should evacuate “permanently” before any more catastrophes would befall on them.

Meanwhile, he said the public should not blame the contractor of the bridge connecting Sapangdaku and Guadalupe as it is “not their fault,” and that it is just an “unfortunate incident.” But he assured that the contractor will “definitely speed up” the construction. — (FREEMAN)