Quezon City Mayor Herbert Bautista has ordered the inspection of all flood walls to step up preparations for the coming rainy season.
He tasked the engineering department to inspect retaining walls, declog waterways, and improve the drainage channels in a bid to minimize floods, especially during the heavy downpour.
This developed as almost a thousand families in Barangay Roxas sought shelter on higher ground due to overnight rains on Wednesday.
On Thursday, the local government of Quezon City suspended classes from pre-school to elementary due to bad weather.
One-story homes were submerged in flood waters for over an hour, families living near the creek in the barangay said. Parts of Barangay Tatalon, Araneta Avenue, and E. Rodriguez Avenue were also flooded.
Floodwaters have since subsided, but piles of trash covered the streets. Trash that clogged waterways came from various places outside of Roxas District, village officials said.
Bautista, however, took pride in saying Quezon City is most prepared among local government units in flood control efforts because of the completion of some 17 city-funded waterways infrastructure projects designed to prevent flash floods during heavy downpours.
With the completion of all preparations, the residents could expect minimal floods in this rainy season, the mayor said.
According to city engineer Joselito Cabungcal, the projects built at a cost of P179.6 million consisted of newly constructed retaining and revetment walls, grouted rip-raps and concrete canals built along different water channels, including San Francisco River, Kalamiong Creek, Anaran Creek, Pasong Tamo Creek and Roxas District.
Bautista said the city government has set aside P23.5 million for the construction of the reinforced concrete revetment wall phase 2 along San Francisco River—Lorraine Street at Parkway Village in Barangay Apolonio Samson;
Another P15.4 million, for the construction of a concrete retaining wall at 8th Street in Barangay Mariana; P14.7 million for the reinforced concrete retaining wall at Kalamiong Creek—Spring Valley (Phase 6) in Barangay Bagong Silangan;
Some P14.8 million, for the construction of a concrete canal at Anaran Creek (Phase 6) in Barangay Phil-Am/West Triangle; P13.1 million, for the construction of a concrete retaining wall at a creek leading to Marikina River in Barangay Libis; and P12.02 million for the construction of a retaining wall at a creek along Roxas District.
The city’s preparation for the rainy season also covers the improvement of different drainage channels to help relieve floods, Bautista said.
Based on the report of the city engineering department, the bulk of the city’s drainage improvement projects was constructed in Districts 4 and 5.
In another development, the city’s Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office recently organized a three-day seminar-workshop on hydrometeorological hazards to beef up the capability of its emergency operations center personnel.
Weather specialists from the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration served as trainers during the seminar.
Among the top topics that were discussed were weather hazards, different types of weather, interpreting PAGASA’s weather advisories, weather and flood forecasting, early warning system, and weather and climate monitoring.
The second batch of seminar-workshop was scheduled from June 6 to 8.
The training is organized to orient the disaster risk reduction and management office and emergency operations center staff on the proper interpretation of PAGASA’s weather and climate terminologies and the best way to disseminate information.
Lester Morfe, the disaster risk reduction and management office-emergency operations center officer in charge, said the training had equipped them with the much-needed skills to help them deliver their functions and duties.