20 dead, 370,000 evacuated as typhoon passes Philippines

Solar News (Philippines): Typhoon Glenda (international name: Ramassun) left 20 people dead and caused the evacuation of more than 370,000 by the time it hit Metro Manila early on Wednesday, July 16. By early evening, it was last located over the West Philippine Sea moving towards Bajo de Masinloc, Zambales according to a latest bulletin of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA).

Glenda was last spotted 160 km west of Zambales packing winds of 140 kph and gustiness of up to 170 kph. It was moving west northwest at 24 kph. Public storm signals have now been lowered.

Metro Manila is now under Storm Signal No. 1, along with Laguna, Batangas, Tarlac, Pampanga, Bataan, Bulacan, Rizal, Cavite, Zambales, Pangasinan, Lubang Island, and the northern part of Occidental and Oriental Mindoro, PAGASA forecaster Rene Paciente said the weather is expected to improve late in the evening. Glenda is expected to leave Philippine territory by tomorrow afternoon (July 17).

Earlier, the typhoon shut down Manila, the capital, cutting power and prompting the evacuation of almost more than 370,000 people, rescue officials said. The eye of Glenda, the strongest storm to hit the country this year, passed south of Manila after cutting a path across the main island of Luzon, toppling trees and power lines and causing electrocutions and widespread blackouts....

A tropical storm over Manila in 2008 (something much less powerful than Ramassun/Glenda), shot by CE Photo Uwe Aranas, Wikimedia Commons,  under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license

Typhoon shuts down Philippine capital, triggers mass evacuations

Reuters: Philippine authorities evacuated almost 150,000 people from their homes and shuttered financial markets, government offices, businesses and schools on Wednesday as typhoon Rammasun gathered strength and hit the capital, Manila.

The typhoon, the strongest to hit the country this year, has already torn through eastern islands, toppling trees and power lines and causing blackouts. On Wednesday, it brought storm surges to the Manila Bay area and prompted disaster officials to evacuate slum-dwellers on the capital's outskirts.

"The wind is very strong, stronger than the rains. It's something that I've never experienced in the past," Mark Leviste, vice governor of Batangas province south of the capital, said in a radio interview.

Parts of the Philippines are still recovering from Typhoon Haiyan, one of the biggest cyclones known to have made landfall anywhere. It killed more than 6,100 people last November in the central provinces, many in tsunami-like sea surges, and left millions homeless.

Typhoon Rammasun was gusting up to 185 kph (115 mph) on Wednesday with sustained winds of 150 kph (93 mph) near its center....

Typhoon Rammasun on July 15, 2014, in a NASA image

Helping make Metro Manila more resilient

Reiner Gloor in Business World Weekender: Government and economic activities are mostly concentrated in large, densely populated metropolitan areas. When disasters strike in these cities, the impact on lives and properties can be enormous and catastrophic.

...Early this week, MMDA Chairman Francis Tolentino and PHAPCares Foundation President Thomas Weigold signed a Memorandum of Agreement that will pave the way for a public-private partnership in health through the donation of P3 million worth of life-saving medicines for a period of three years. The agreement seeks to augment government resources as well as support the agency in its task of implementing policies and programs that would help ensure the resiliency of Metro Manila residents from natural disasters and other emergencies.

The MMDA-PHAPCares Foundation partnership recognizes that disasters pose an enormous threat to the lives and health of people living in Metro Manila and other densely populated cities. Metro Manila alone is said to have a population of 12 million, with many living in low-lying and river areas. During the MoA signing, Chairman Tolentino referred to the partnership as “a big blessing” as it would assist the agency in the performance of its public health mandate. The agreement is envisioned to help the MMDA to immediately and aptly respond to the medical needs of disaster victims as well as agency frontliners, service providers and responders.

MMDA General Manager Corazon Jimenez, meanwhile, said that the partnership would complement the health programs of the agency, aimed at caring for their 7,000 personnel composed of disaster responders, traffic enforcers, street sweepers, sewerage sweepers, and flood control personnel. Due to the nature of their jobs, MMDA personnel are susceptible to both infectious and non-communicable diseases....

Manila's skyline, shot by Theurbanhistorian, Wikimedia Commons, under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license

What’s making the floods worse in Manila?

The Business Mirror (Philippines): Lashed each year by typhoons and stuck with outdated drainage systems, the Philippine capital has been hit by ever-worsening floods. Population growth, inadequate infrastructure, corruption, deforestation and even trash buildup combine to exacerbate the impact.

It’s a trend experts expect to continue. Here’s why: Manila is located in a catch basin sandwiched between Manila Bay and Laguna Lake to the southeast. The city was built on waterways, canals and creeks that have, for centuries, channeled floodwaters into the sea.

But half the 40 kilometers of narrow waterways and canals that would drain rainwater—constructed and modified during the Spanish colonial period—have been lost, cemented or paved over, said architect and urban planner Paulo Alcazaren.

Many of the remaining ones are clogged with garbage and ill-maintained, teeming with squatter colonies occupying riverbanks and coastal areas.

Much of Manila, once known as the “Pearl of the Orient,” was lost in heavy bombardment at the end of World War II. The haphazard, poorly planned urban reconstruction, coupled with the tenfold jump in population to nearly 12 million today, has severely strained the city’s ability to cope with flooding.

The capital’s flood-control system is outdated, incomplete and poorly designed, said Felino Palafox Jr., another urban architect who has closely studied flooding in Manila....

The Manila skyline, shot by airforcefe, Wikimedia Commons via Flickr, under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license

Philippines swamped after days of torrential rain

The Guardian (UK) via the Associated Press: Some of the Philippines' heaviest rains on record fell for a second day on Tuesday, turning the capital's roads into rivers and trapping tens of thousands of people in homes and shelters. The government suspended all work except rescues and disaster response.

Officials reported at least seven people dead, 11 injured and four missing. The dead included a five-year-old boy whose house was hit by a concrete wall that collapsed.

Throughout the sprawling, low-lying capital region of 12 million people, floodwaters made most of the roads impassable and reached waist- or neck-deep along rivers and creeks. Authorities opened more than 200 evacuation centres in Manila and surrounding provinces filled with tens of thousands of people, social welfare secretary Corazon Soliman said. More than 600,000 people have been affected by the floods.

The flooding followed two nights of heavy monsoon rains, exacerbated by Tropical Storm Trami. The storm hovered over the North Philippine Sea and drenched the main northern island of Luzon with more than 30mm (one inch) of rain an hour. It was forecast to move away from the Philippines toward Taiwan on Wednesday...

Manila City Hall before a 2011 rain, shot by Kaori-san, Wikimedia Commons, under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license

Philippine development sparks 'sunset' protest

Terra Daily via AFP: Hundreds of Filipinos converged on the Philippine capital's main bayfront Tuesday for a unique "sunset watch" protest aimed at stopping what they said would be a disastrous reclamation project. Armed with binoculars and cameras, the protesters called on the Manila city government to repeal an ordinance granting permission for a developer to reclaim 288 hectares (711 acres) of the bay.

"This reclamation will not only block the view of the famed sunset on Manila Bay but will also lead to worsening environmental degradation, like more floods," said Chiqui Mabanta, one of the organisers of the event.

The protest involved a broad coalition of Manila residents, artists, civic leaders and environmentalists called SOS Manila Bay, which last month filed a petition with city hall to stop the reclamation. The protesters linked hands to form a human chain at sunset, while artists painted the famed views.

The group said the developer, Manila Goldcoast Development, had presented plans for an international cruise ship terminal to boost tourism to the area. The complex would also house entertainment businesses, as well as a high-rise residential development....

Sunset at the Manila Bay Yacht Club, shot by Waiting for serendipity, Wikimedia Commons, under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license

Philippines to move 100,000 squatters

Space Daily via AFP: The Philippine government plans to move about 100,000 squatters from their homes on crucial waterways in Manila by June as a flood control measure and for their own safety, an official said Saturday. The plan is to clear six major waterways in the sprawling capital before typhoon season starts in June, while also saving the squatters from being washed away by floods, said Interior Undersecretary Francisco Fernandez.

Experts have long warned that flooding in Manila has been worsened by the squatter communities who build precarious shanties on the banks of waterways, preventing water from flowing freely and blocking drains with rubbish.

Fernandez said there were an estimated 105,000 squatter families living on the waterways of the capital. The 20,000 families -- representing about 100,000 people -- living in the six major waterways would be the first to be moved.

"Forced evacuations will only be taken as a last resort," said Fernandez, whose office is in charge of informal settlers. He said the government was already meeting those affected so they could be relocated to areas near their old homes or at least in or near the capital....

A shantytown in Manila, shot by Mike Gonzalez (TheCoffee), Wikimedia Commons, under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license

Cities of Dhaka, Manila, Bangkok, Yangon and Jakarta face highest climate change risks – Maplecroft Risk Atlas

Maplecroft News: Multinational companies operating in the Asian growth economies will be exposed to spiralling environmental risks over the coming decades, according to Maplecroft’s 5th annual Climate Change and Environmental Risk Atlas , which identifies Dhaka, Manila, Bangkok, Yangon, Jakarta, Ho Chi Minh City and Kolkata as the cities facing the most risk from the onset of climate change.

Maplecroft’s Climate Change Vulnerability Index (CCVI), which forms a central pillar of the Atlas, classifies seven cities as ‘extreme risk,’ out of a list of 50 that were chosen for their current and future importance to global business. Dhaka, Bangladesh, (ranked 1st), Manila, the Philippines (2), Bangkok, Thailand (3), Yangon, Myanmar (4), Jakarta, Indonesia (5), Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam (6) and Kolkata, India (7) emerged as the most at risk from the changing temperatures and weather systems that are forecast to take hold in the coming years.

The CCVI has been developed by Maplecroft to identify risks to populations, company operations, supply chains and investments in 197countries down to a level of 25km2. It evaluates exposure to climate related natural hazards; the sensitivity of populations; development; natural resources; agricultural dependency; research and development; government effectiveness and education levels.

With strong economic growth of above 5% forecast for countries such as the Philippines, Viet Nam, Indonesia and India in the next few years, the relevance of climate change to populations and business in the major commercial centres should not be underplayed, states Maplecroft in its analysis.
“As global corporations expand into the emerging growth markets, their operations and supply chains will become exposed to a complex set of climate risks that have the potential to disrupt business continuity,” states Maplecroft’s Head of Maps and Indices, Helen Hodge. “It is essential for companies to identify where suppliers, assets and personnel are most at risk and plan for the long term.”...

Manila Bay at night, shot by Waiting for serendipity, Wikimedia Commons, under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license

Metro Manila is sinking, says expert

Christina Mendez in the Philippine Star:  The entire Metro Manila has started to “sink” due to global warming and floods and to the rampant setting up of illegal fishponds in nearby provinces, an expert from the University of the Philippines’ Marine Institute said yesterday.

Fernando Siringan made the revelation when he faced the Senate committee on climate change. Siringan explained the cause of massive flooding in Metro Manila in recent weeks. “One major point is that the land in Malabon is sinking, and not only in Malabon. Actually, the entire Metro Manila is sinking. And you’ll have to consider that it’s sinking not slowly, it’s sinking at several centimeters per year,” Siringan said.

He also said there is no sense in dredging rivers if it continues to be filled with trash. He said the rising sea level as well as oil subsidence should be considered in the conduct of anti-flood projects, especially in the Caloocan, Malabon, Navotas and Valenzuela (Camanava) area. “There are places in Malabon and Pampanga where soil subsidence is at 10 centimeters and half a meter every year, respectively,” Siringan said.

Sen. Loren Legarda, chairperson of the Senate committee on climate change, echoed Siringan’s statements. “This is not new because we have been saying this even before. Many areas are sinking every year so this should be incorporated in the planning of projects in the affected areas,” Legarda said. In the long term, there is a need to clear up waterways, rivers and lakes, Legarda said.

She said there is also a need to remove human settlements in major drainage systems. “We will collate all of these together so that we will be able to have a framework on how to address the massive flooding in the metropolis,” she said...

A view of Manila in 1992, during a chess olympiad, shot by GFHund, Wikimedia Commons, under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license

Metro Manila has had no anti-flood plan since 1952

Joel E. Zurbano in the Manila Standard:  Aside from a burgeoning population, improper garbage disposal and climate change, the heavy flooding that have occurred in recent years can also be blamed on the fact that the Philippines has not had a comprehensive flood-control masterplan for since 1952, according to Public Works Secretary Rogelio Singson.

Singson said the 60-year-old masterplan no longer addresses current realities and involves sewerage and drainage systems that are 70 percent clogged with heavy silt and are only working at 30 percent capacity.

In 1990, the department undertook three important flood-control projects – the West Manggahan Floodway project in Pasig; first phase of the flood-control project in Caloocan, Malabon, Navotas and Valenzuela and the second phase of the Pasig-Marikina River Channel Improvement project.

But there were separate projects and not designed under a comprehensive masterplan similar to what the department is now undertaking with the assistance of the World Bank, Singson said. After Tropical Depression Ondoy in September 2009, a number of the infrastructure projects were also undertaken, but they were mostly rehabilitational.

Nonetheless, Singson said the department has completed over P3 billion worth of projects in at least five regions. “[For Metro Manila,] we are doing Pasig-Marikina flood control and river wall improvement. We have been doing drainage improvement in several flooded areas,” Singson said. “We are also identifying projects to be prioritized like [the repair of] dikes on major rivers and the clearing of waterways,” he added.

Singson explained that a new masterplan was developed with a grant from the World Bank and the Australian Aid for International Development....

Night scene at Adriatico corner Remedios in Malate, Manila taken by Dean M. Bernardo on 18 October 2006 for public domain use on Wikipedia

Strained resources in the Philippines

Melanie Lim in the Sun Star (Philippines): Two million people were affected by the relentless rains and enormous floods that inundated the national capital region and its vicinity. As of this writing, the death toll brought on by the southwest monsoon rains is 60. We’ve been told to expect more of the same in the future. The enormous floods, we’ve been told, are the new normal.

What is causing the flooding? The relentless rains are brought about by unprecedented climate change. The flooding, on the other hand, is a conspiracy of damaged watersheds and clogged drainage systems. We were warned long ago. But we did not listen.

...We’ve cut too many trees. And we’ve cut indiscriminately without replacement. We’ve destroyed our forests. Housing and commercial developments have spread to the suburbs to serve a burgeoning population.

Add to this the perennial problem of clogged waterways due to the colonies of squatters that invade the cities. And that’s how floods come with a vengeance. In an urban planner’s dream, residents do not occupy riverbanks and dump garbage in the rivers. But this is the norm in our country. It’s not even a new norm. It’s an old norm. And now, it’s come to haunt us.

Master plans for new drainage systems need to be drawn up. The problem of garbage disposal needs to be seriously tackled. Squatter colonies need to be permanently removed from danger zones. Waterways need to be kept free of obstruction. No one should live by rivers, creeks, canals and other natural drainage arteries.

We have to replace the trees we have cut down. We have to stop illegal logging. We have to regulate development. And at the end of the day, we have to come to the realization that we also need to control our population....

Floods devastate Manila’s streets

Care2.com: Manila, the capital of the Philippines, was overcome by devastating monsoon floods into Tuesday after several days of heavy rain. According to the New York Times, a nearby lake sent an overflow of water into the river at the center of Manila, causing catastrophic damage to buildings and sending many people fleeing the overpopulated capital.

There has been over a week of monsoon storms caused by the Typhoon Saola, which struck last week. The storms and flooding have taken the lives of at least 50 people. Rescue workers have been challenged to find and rescue people who were quickly submerged in the torrential rains. Rubber boats floated through the city, which is reportedly 50 percent submerged at this point. One rescue worker, Eric Baran told reporters, “As of now, it’s difficult to rescue the trapped residents, as we are battling strong currents with our life crafts.”

Pictures of the flood show Manila citizens standing waist- or neck-high in water, carrying umbrellas, soaked to the bone and looking concerned. Businesses, roads, cars and possessions have been buried in deep water that promises to cause severe damages to the structure of the colorful capital.

The BBC reports that tens of thousands of people were forced to flee their homes and businesses, especially in areas where structures are less stable. An entire family of nine were killed in Quezon City, a shanty town, where torrential rains quickly tore up the housing in the area....

US Navy photo from the 2007 typhoon floods in Manila

Manila flooding eases after killing 23

The Australian: Widespread flooding that killed at least 23 people, battered a million others and paralysed the Philippine capital has eased, allowing rescuers in boats to reach a large number of distressed residents still marooned in submerged villages.

Forecasters said on Wednesday the monsoon rains that overflowed major dams and rivers crisscrossing Manila and surrounding provinces would gradually abate and lead to sunny weather later this week after 12 days of relentless downpours.

The deluge that began late on Sunday was the worst since 2009 when hundreds died in rampaging flash floods. "We're still in a rescue mode," said Benito Ramos, who heads the government's main disaster-response agency. "Floods are receding in many areas but people are still trapped on their roofs."

Ramos said the massive flooding turned half of Manila into "a water world" on Monday evening and into Tuesday. At least 23 died, including nine in a landslide in a hillside slum in suburban Quezon City and several others who drowned in outlying provinces...

Entrance into R. Hidalgo street taken by Dean M. Bernardo on 10 November 2006 for public domain use for Wikipedia

Taming the fury of floods and our greed

Gerry Geronimo in the Manila Standard (Philippines) summarizes a report that sounds like a template for cities adapting: …According to Nathaniel von Einsiedel, a fellow at the Institute of Environmental Planners, in his article “Flooding in Metro Manila: Can It Ever Be Solved?” published recently by Tao Pilipinas, an NGO magazine and from which I draw heavily for this piece, Manila is no stranger to floods; floods have been part of the city’s daily life since at least the 19th century.

...Undoubtedly, as pointed in the Undro report I had given exposure to in my previous pieces, the combination of topographic, hydrological and meteorological conditions predispose Metro Manila to frequent flooding. But over and above nature risks, Metro Manila is made all the more vulnerable by human activity.

These activities include, not necessarily in the order of the degree of their rapacity, (a) rapid and massive rise in the size and density of the population; (b) improper land management and environmental protection; (c) inadequate solid waste management; (d) overdependence and reliance on infrastructure and technological solutions; and (e) lack of coordination, if not cooperation, among the public agencies responsible for flood control and disaster management. There is no need, at this time, to go into the gory details.

What is heartening to note, though, in the von Einsiedel article is that while the situation is serious, the prognosis is not hopeless. “...if Metro Manila is to develop as a flood-free mega-city [and not just espouse the useful but short-term strategy of disaster preparedness], its 17 component cities,” claims von Einsiedel, “need to look beyond the confines of their respective jurisdictions and accept the fact that they are parts and parcels of a single floodplain, a vast urbanized drainage basin which does not respect political boundaries. If this acceptance is achieved, then the preparation of an ecologically-based regional plan can proceed. Unless this happens, Metro Manila will likely not only remain vulnerable but even become highly susceptible to more frequent and severe disasters in the face of climate change.”…

2007 Flooding in Manila, US Navy photo

Warning of massive flooding for Asia's coastal mega-cities

GMA News TV (Philippines): The Asian Development Bank (ADB) warned Asia’s coastal megacities, including Manila, of more massive flooding incidents that could affect millions of people should current climate change trends continue. In a report titled "Climate Risks and Adaptation in Asian Coastal Megacities," the ADB said the cost of major flooding on infrastructure and the economy could run into billions of dollars, with urban poor populations likely to be the hardest hit.

Apart from Manila, the other Asian megacities identified in the report were Bangkok in Thailand and Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. The report, released Friday in Bangkok is the product of a two-year collaborative study by the ADB, the Japan International Cooperation Agency, and the World Bank. The ADB said the three megacities should find effective ways to address climate change issues such as rising sea levels and extreme weather changes.

…“Land subsidence due to groundwater pumping, dumping of solid waste into city canals and waterways, clogged drainage systems, and deforestation in the upper watershed all contribute to urban flooding," the statement said.

The report said the governments of the three cities should address climate risks as an integral part of urban planning. The measures include “developing strategic urban adaptation frameworks for managing climate risks, strengthening institutional capacity for adaptation, and implementing measures such as land use planning and zoning to help reduce urban vulnerability."…

Bangkok by satellite

'Manila needs redesigning to survive climate change'

Philippine Star: Metro Manila needs to be reengineered to survive climate change. This was stressed by Sen. Edgardo Angara during the opening of an international conference on climate change titled “Engineering Resilience: Confronting Risks Beyond Adaptation” at Hotel Sofitel, Pasay City.Angara, chairman of the congressional commission on science and technology, and engineering (Comste) which sponsored the gathering of local and foreign scientists, said the redesign of Metro Manila can serve as blueprint for other places in the country also threatened by climate change.

He said the conference held early this week is “not just how to rebuild Metro Manila but also how to build cities that are sustainable, livable, environmentally friendly, and can cope with disasters that appear to be a regular feature of our daily existence.” He said strong earthquakes have been frequent recently, like those that struck Haiti, Chile, Turkey and Indonesia.

He also noted that Metro Manila and others like Laguna and Nueva Ecija came under water all at the same time from the incessant raining by typhoons “Pepeng” and “Ondoy” last October and September, respectively. Scientists have stressed that climate change will cause extreme weather conditions, like stronger typhoons.

Angara said the massive flooding showed the unpreparedness and vulnerability of a mega city like Metro Manila as well as the government and the society, in general, in coping with calamities. He said disasters are not unavoidable as there are new designs and new technologies that can help Metro Manila, Cebu, Davao and other places in the country cope up with natural disasters.

“We can do many things about it (calamities), not just engineering intervention but also good thinking – design thinking,” he said. “As many of the advanced architects and designers have said, design can make a big difference,” he said. “We need the advice of experts who studied this subject not just academically but seen it first- hand and tell us what are the best practices we can adopt here.”…

An 1851 map of Manila