President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Friday emphasized the need to update flood hazard maps, noting that the course of floodwaters has changed over time.
“What we’re going to have to do here is we’re going to have to really look and see what are the changes that have happened,” the President said during the situation briefing on the Severe Tropical Storm Enteng in Antipolo City.
President Marcos cited the situation in Metro Manila, where some areas that were not known to flood were submerged during the onslaught of Typhoon Carina.
“Like in the case of Carina in Metro Manila, there were very distinct, there were identifiable causes why they haven’t had that flooding for 15 years but they now did,” he said.
The President suggested that flooding may have been caused by blocked waterways due to urbanization, particularly the increasing number of housing projects.
According to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), the analysis of flood dynamics in Rizal revealed that “very dense” housing projects were one of the primary reasons for flooding in Rizal and its adjacent areas.
In an interview after the briefing, President Marcos said the government would need a “large-scale, long-term” plan to ensure that flood control initiatives across the country are responsive and sufficient. PND
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