Manila fully ready for rainy season

With the onset of the rainy season, Manila Mayor Lito Atienza said agencies of the city government are ready with all the necessary measures to minimize flooding.

He expressed confidence that minimal flooding will take place in the capital because of drainage and waterway clearing operations.

"The Office of City Engineer Armand Andres and the Department of Public Services headed by Engineer Rafael Borromeo have been clearing drainages and other waterways regularly, so we expect that while there may still be flooding in the event of heavy rains, this would be minimized and floodwaters would recede faster," Atienza said.

The city’s engineering department has been using four vacuum trucks to clear drainage pipes of sludge and other debris.

A disaster response coordinating and operations center is also in place at the Office of City Administrator Dino Nable, who heads the Manila Disaster Coordinating Council. Coordination would be undertaken with barangay authorities in areas that would be affected by flooding with the help of the Manila Barangay Bureau headed by Director Norberto Enriquez to determine whether residents of the affected areas need to be evacuated.

The Manila Department of Social Welfare is also ready to deploy teams that would conduct rescue and relief operations in areas where it is deemed necessary, and that sufficient stocks of relief goods are already on hand, which could be augmented as the need arises.

Field personnel of the Manila Health Department would also be deployed to evacuation centers to attend to the medical needs of evacuees and to prevent the spread of diseases.

"The Manila Disaster Coordinating Council is ready to deal with any eventuality and it would be in charge of coordinating the actions of the appropriate agencies, and I would also personally be going around to check the conditions in affected areas," Atienza said.

It can be recalled that last year, less areas were affected by flooding, mostly those near the coastline of Manila Bay. Residents in the affected areas were temporarily transferred to evacuation sites such as schools and sports complexes. – Cecille Suerte Felipe