NORSU help sought vs. flooding

DUMAGUETE CITY, Philippines  –Vice Mayor Alan Gel Cordova has asked the Negros Oriental State University (NORSU) for assistance in helping find solutions to the perennial problem of flooding in the city. The vice mayor said he sent the letter Tuesday to outgoing NORSU president Henry Sojor for a community outreach program for a general assessment of the city, starting with Barangay Banilad.

The move came after Sunday’s unexpected flooding in some areas in the city, more particularly Banilad, where a creek overflowed into the fields, rendering spillways impassable and leaving motorists and other people stranded for a few hours.

Cordova said he asked the NORSU to conduct an assessment on the public drainage system, potential areas of flooding, develop an early warning system and other disaster mitigation measures.

The vice mayor immediately deployed Monday heavy equipment to the road in Banilad, from the national highway to the interior portion, where floodwaters carried debris downstream and clogged up drainage canals.

Cordova, the acting mayor at the time of the incident while Mayor Manuel Sagarbarria was on an official travel overseas, personally supervised the city’s disaster response teams. He was surprised upon seeing how the spillways in upper Banilad overflowed after the creek changed its course.  (FREEMAN)