HAPPY WEEKEND

A second look at floods
Gina Dizon

DHAKA, Bangladesh -- Rains mean either good or bad. Good when it comes to water the plants and wash away the stench and dirt on the streets. And bad when it washes down crops, houses and lives as well.

Floods always have a disastrous effect on lives of people every time the calamity hits. Crops are flooded, lives are lost. Disease especially cholera and diarrhea abound. Many get homeless and get hungry. Economy falls down.

This, right now is manifested in South East Asia especially north of India and Bangladesh where thousands died due to flood-related diseases hitting most especially the children and the elderly.

Thousands cry out for houses where these have been washed and damaged by floods. A number of homeless victims went to the capital city of Dhaka only to sleep on the streets and add to the number of homeless beggars. Thousands still cry out for food, water, medicine and shelter.
***
In response, developed countries including the US, United Kingdom, Germany and funding institutions such as United Nations Development Program went to Bangladesh to respond to the situation. A number of non-government also reached out to provide relief goods to victims.

For years, Bangladesh suffered the onslaught of floods yet a nationwide disaster preventive mechanism has yet to be installed to get the country prepared to this annual disastrous occurrence.

While this is the case, the Philippines which is a disaster-prone country as well suffers from floods. This had been noted in Kidapawan, Mindanao some weeks back when a father and his two children were buried in the landslide along with their house.

While the occurrence of floods in the Philippines is due to the country’s geographical vulnerability, this is compounded by other man-made causes such as massive logging activities. This is not to forget the case in Ormoc, Leyte where a number of people were also buried due to floods, one major reason of which is attributed to massive logging in the area.

The Philippines too, has yet to come up with preventive measures of preventing floods
which includes structural and policy reforms as well.
***
In Betag, La Trinidad, Benguet, this low-lying valley had also experienced floods for quite some time especially in the swampy strawberry fields. This area is also flood-prone since houses which are located close to each other have poor drainage systems. Due to this, a resident could really literally walk on a flooded front and backyard when big rains come.

This had been the case for quite some time and the government had not yet come up with a comprehensive infrastructural solution to prevent floods in the swampy valley. While the provincial government has implemented a flood embankment project with the support of Japan International Cooperation Agency some years back, a comprehensive drainage system within the residential areas demands a second look.