Flood Risks in Davao City

DAVAO CITY -- Six areas here have been identified by the city government as having high risks of flooding during the wet season, including the neighborhood where the Indonesian Consulate is located.

“We will be ready by June when the rainy season comes, but there are areas which will be prone to flooding, so we are constantly monitoring them,” said Yusop Ahmad Jimlani, chief of the Drainage Management Unit (DMU).

The six areas that concern the DMU are those along the Magsaysay Boulevard, even if most sections of the road, one of the main highways in the city, have now been elevated. Five other areas are Torres Street, Bajada, parts of Agdao, those within the vicinity of Savemore in Matina, and the part of Ecoland where the Indonesian Consulate is.

Mr. Jimlani said the special group Task Force Drainage organized by the local government is set to discuss possible solutions to minimize the flooding risk.

Mr. Jimlani said potential flooding in these areas, especially around the Indonesian Consulate and Savemore, is due to the high concentration of informal settlers in the vicinity, some of whom have built structures that block the drainage outlets leading to the rivers.

The local official said the city government is considering the demolition of these illegal structures.

Currently, DMU workers are working around the clock to clear drainage pipes of debris.

Mr. Jimlani said the city has been accumulating too much waste and garbage disposal management needs to be improved with their team collecting up to 16 cubic meters of waste daily from canals and drainage pipes.

A study on the Business Risk Assessment and Management of Climate Change Impacts of 16 cities from 2011 to 2013 conducted by the World Wide Fund (WWF) shows that even if Davao City is located in a typhoon-free zone, it is susceptible to dangerous floods in areas adjacent to the city’s rivers.

There are several rivers that run through the city and drain into the Davao Gulf. The largest of these waterways are the Davao and Talomo Rivers where thousands of residents are most likely to be affected in case of flooding.

“Unless and until this rainfall trend reverses itself, it is likely that Davao’s growing economy will have to manage increased rainfall, river flow and flooding,” the WWF-Philippines said, adding that the city’s population has been on the rise due mainly to migration.

In the past 20 years, the city logged over 692,000 new inhabitants and registered the highest population growth rate of 2.88% compared to other cities, based on the WWF study.

Nonetheless, the study placed the city as the least vulnerable to climate change given that it still has significant land area for building “new livable satellite developments” and has time to plan and implement strategies such as “climate smart” zoning. -- 

By Carmencita A. Carillo, Businessworld Online Manila.