Philippine flooding
Monday, September 28, 2009 | 03:40 PM ET
The death toll in the massive flooding that swept the Philippine capital of Manila and nearby provinces has reached 140, officials said Monday.
Army troops, police and civilian volunteers backed by U.S. troops continue the search and rescue effort in the country, according to Defence Secretary Gilbert Teodoro.
He said 32 villagers remain missing following the flooding, which was set off after tropical storm Ketsana hit the northern portion of the country on Saturday.
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Comments
liezel
canada
omg god this disaster is so different from all the others. before i use to watch disasters just on news but now it hit at least 4 groups of may family both from my mom side and dad side.
two groups of my family members got hit in laguna, one in pasig, and then i have yet to heard from my father's side in quezon city.
i am fully aware that quezon have been hit really hard. some of my family members have lost their property an clothes. me and my family from canada are all going to be sending money.
im thankful that i havent received any news of death, we are still blessed. i dont mind loosing property but so long as its not lives that are lost. mother nature is knocking on all our doors to be treated right and she has taught us all a lesson.
Posted October 1, 2009 12:36 AM
Jack Congson
Toronto
Imagine an impoverished country of 2000 islands with a total land mass smaller than British Columbia with 96 million people.
The Philippines is just a notch above Bangladesh and very much poorer than Indonesia, its next door neighbor. The country's lifeline is so fragile that it takes many years to recover from natural disasters.
Filipinos, however, are a hardy people and are natural survivalists. Many of them will soon join the diasphora into all corners of the world where they have prospered through sheer hard work and courage.
Posted October 1, 2009 04:03 PM
mark sabada
toronto
Received reports from friends visiting Manila and from inlaws.
They report severe shortages of food and fresh water. Clothing and shelter are scarce. Some people complain thety have not eaten in two weeks.
Posted October 12, 2009 02:35 PM
Amy
Philippines
It's been 10 days after the deluge of Typhoon Ketsana (Ondoy). In it's aftermath, everyone has been wondering "why did this happen?" Or more importantly, the question really is "Could there have been a way to prevent this?" Was it even possible to at least get a clear idea of the rainfall that was about to drop in the Metropolis and therefore stifle or even mitigate just a little the effects of this dreaded deluge?
PAGASA notwithstanding, I've pointed to some colleagues on Monday, Sept. 29, that I point the finger on the poor urban planning of Metro Manila--along with its neighboring towns and cities.
I've grown familiar with certain areas heavily devastated by the storm such as Marikina, Pasig and Cainta. In fact, if I were to live on my own, I'd greatly consider the possibility of living amongst these bustling cities...that was before the deluge happened. When it did, I was overwhelmed with the event but not entirely surprised. These cities just mentioned, and its neighboring towns, are thriving along the city's foremost river--the Marikina River.
Along this river is what is known as a flood way. To be honest, I'm not entirely aware of the purpose of this floodway--was it supposed to be there to prevent the flood? If so, how? If it is to be a floodway in the truest sense of the word, then it ought to be an area where excess water from the river would be allowed to overflow. The problem with this floodway is that over the years, it has been a favorite development spot for real estate developers--not to mention the squatters who got there first and have settled before the developers came in. So if you do have a floodway wherein there is a thriving community, if the river does overflow, where can the excess water go?
In the cities, drainage systems should have done the job of flushing out excess water and keeping it at low levels in the event of a deluge. How come the thriving cities mentioned above became a literal pool of river overnight? How come the water remained on the roads where it shouldn't?
Sewerage and drainage systems in the Metropolis has been a perennial problem. With additional developments happening, it's a wonder if the sewerage and drainage systems are included in these developments. Think about it: the more people come in to the city, the more garbage it will most likely produce. Sewerage and drainage systems are supposed to be for liquid and organic wastes only. Unfortunately, solid wastes are also found it these drainage systems, thereby blocking the passage ways of flood waters, thereby creating a pool (or a sea?) of deluge. Whatever happened to the so called Clean and Green City I've been hearing about?
Add to this are reports and studies of long ago wherein the cities mentioned above--and others particularly, the towns around Laguna de Bay--shouldn't have been fully developed in the first place. Marikina proper is after all a valley--that means it's a water basin! Naturally, it's the place where excess of water would and should overflow. Not to mention, certain cities and towns like Pasig are even claimed as "below" the water level of Laguna de Bay.
Unfortunately, despite earlier warnings of years ago, perhaps right now, it couldn't have been prevented. So what's left to be done? Move on...learn a lesson...the question is where to?
Posted October 15, 2009 11:28 PM