Denuded mountains, clogged drainage blamed for CDO flooding

Monday's massive flooding in Cagayan de Oro City was caused by poor drainage system and not by an overflowing river unlike the flooding during Typhoon Sendong's wrath in 2011, a disaster official said Tuesday.

"Dun sa Sendong, talagang dun dumadaan sa ilog namin, 'yung Cagayan de Oro river. Yung nangyari kahapon is just only an urban flooding, 'yung tawag namin doon," Allan Porcadilla, head of the city's Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (DRRMC), said in a "Balitanghali" interview.

Porcadilla said the flooding in Cagayan de Oro on Monday was exacerbated by accumulated rainwater that flowed down the city from nearby denuded mountains.

"'Yung ilog namin dito, hindi gumagalaw. No movement, normal 'yung ilog namin dito. Pero 'yung ulan galing sa bundok na bumababa dito sa amin, 'yun ang nag-cause ng flooding dito po sa amin," he said.

The Imperial College of London described urban flooding as"flooding in urban areas caused by intense and/or prolonged rainfall which overwhelms the capacity of the drainage system."

In Cagayan de Oro's case, Porcadilla said their drainage system was either too small or too clogged with garbage to take the amount of rainwater brought by Monday's heavy rain.

"Kaya natawag namin dun is urban flooding, lalung-lalo na ay maliliit yung drainage po namin, may problema po kasi dito sa drainage namin, at tsaka yung mga basura po," Porcadilla said.

The local government of Cagayan de Oro has already put the city under state of calamity due to the flooding. In a meeting, officials also agreed that there is a need to improve the city's urban planning to prevent flooding in the future.

An alternative livelihood program is also in the works in conjunction with a program to restore trees on mountains, reduce flooding in areas below them, and discourage people from logging.

"Nabanggit din yun para mabigyan ng alternative na kabuhayan yung mga tao dun sa bundok, para hindi na putulin mga kahoy doon at tsaka yung tree-planting namin po dito," Porcadilla said.

While the low pressure area and the tail-end of a cold front supposedly did not affect river systems, the Cagayan de Oro government raised Code Red after the water level in Iponan River reached a critical level.

Porcadilla said 994 families or 3,833 individuals were evacuated from the city, excluding the thousand trapped in the Mindanao State University who were later rescued.

Residents began going back to their homes on Tuesday morning due to improving weather.

Porcadilla asked residents to heed government advisories in the future to avoid casualties. Monday's flooding left a teenager dead, according to reports.

"Kapag yung mga DDRRMC nila ang nagbibigay na po ng babala na lumikas na sa kanilang mga bayan, sana po'y makikinig po sila upang maiwasan yung mga pangyayari kahapon," he said. —KBK, GMA News