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With climate change, extreme weather is becoming the norm. Still, Cebu residents are asking if the magnitude of the flooding spawned by Typhoon Tino could have been much less with proper flood mitigation measures.
New Cebu Gov. Pamela Baricuatro lamented that P26 billion was allotted for flood control in the province, “yet we are flooded to the max.” Describing the flooding caused by Tino as “even worse than Ondoy,” she wants an investigation and accountability from those responsible for the flood mitigation failure.
As Cebu declared a state of calamity, Malacañang reported yesterday that 343 flood control projects were implemented in the province during the Duterte administration, and 168 under President Marcos.
The scenes of destruction from flash floods that Cebuanos said was a first in their lifetime show the complete failure of flood mitigation measures. Even with climate change, there must have been other factors that contributed to the killer flood, and Baricuatro is not the only one who wants to find out what happened.
While extremely heavy rainfall could be blamed for floodwaters rising so rapidly people had little time to move to higher ground, manmade causes must have contributed to the interminable wait for the water to subside.
Residents and their pets were trapped on rooftops for up to a day, watching helplessly as their vehicles floated in the flood and banged against others. Even snakes sought higher ground.
In Negros Oriental, torrents of rainwater brought boulders crashing down from the mountains, leaving at least 12 people dead and destroying houses made of light materials.
Nature’s fury can’t be stopped, but its impact can be minimized and its toll on lives, crops and property reduced.
The devastation from Tino must be compared with the cataclysmic flooding in Camarines Sur spawned by Severe Tropical Storm Kristine in October last year. A post-mortem is needed to show what went wrong, and what can be done for better disaster preparedness and mitigation.
At the same time, in the light of revelations in the corruption scandal over flood control, a probe is needed to determine if graft and willful negligence contributed to the killer floods. The tragedy in Cebu, Negros and other areas hit by Tino shows the steep cost of a failed or non-existent flood control program. It is criminal negligence that cannot go unpunished.
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Credit belongs to: www.philstar.com
