MMDA chief raises alert vs floods

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) yesterday placed on alert all flood control teams as part of the continuous upgrading of measures to prevent flooding in flood prone areas in Metro Manila.

MMDA chairman Bayani Fernando said anti-flood equipment are now pre-positioned in flood prone areas of Metro Manila, particularly Caloocan, Malabon, Navotas and Valenzuela City also known as the Camanava area to ensure that floodwaters will subside faster during the rainy season.

Fernando said flashfloods in Metro Manila usually cause traffic jams in major thoroughfares and sidestreets in low-lying areas in the metropolis.

Baltazar Melgar, director of the MMDA Flood Control Sewerage Management, said the canal-clearing crews are regularly doing their jobs.

Melgar said Fernando had directed them to intensify the cleaning, desilting and dredging operations of major waterways and drainage systems to lessen flashfloods.

He said that they also dredged garbage from eight major water pumping stations and 14 minor pumping units in various parts of the metropolis to allow easy flow of rainwater.     

“The 10 million residents in Metro Manila generates some 8,000 metric tons of waste daily though authorities say close to only 80 percent of these are collected properly while the rest ends up in esteros and canals clogging the already overburdened drainage system” Melgar said.

Melgar said unscrupulous individuals sometimes intentionally put debris in canals to clog drainage system and cause flashfloods in the streets to force pedestrians to use the makeshift bridges the culprits later build where people can pass to cross the streets for a certain fee.

MMDA Traffic Operations Center (TOC) executive director Angelito Vergel de Dios said it is alright to pass through the flooded streets if the sidewalk is still visible.

“The standard height of the gutter is nine inches. If you can still see the sidewalk, it is okay (for light vehicles) to pass through it,” De Dios said.

Fernando advised motorists to drive in low gear while crossing flooded streets.

Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay had also ordered the city’s Department of Engineering and the Department of Environmental Services to speed up the dredging operations on major creeks and waterways to prevent floods.

City engineer Nelson Morales said the dredging crews will put priority on waterways near low-lying areas which include Barangays San Antonio, Pio del Pilar, La Paz, Kasilawan, Tejeros and San Isidro.

Morales said their operation was in response to Binay’s order to reduce the volume of garbage and improve the city’s flood control system to maintain cleanliness and destroy all possible breeding grounds of mosquitoes that may spread dengue fever.