BACOLOD City – The number of flooded areas in the city has dropped, according to the cluster head of the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO).
Executive Assistant Joemarie Vargas said the seven-month (January to July) drainage cleanup of the CDRRMO has helped “minimize” flooding.
Through manual and mechanical de-clogging, the CDRRMO has collected around 2,512 sacks of garbage from canals in several areas in the metro.
Among the collected wastes were plastics, vegetables and bottles.
Vargas appealed to the public to be responsible in disposing of their waste.
He cited as a bad example the Libertad market area where the CDRRMO conducts drainage clearing twice a week.
“We keep reminding the locals not to throw their garbage just anywhere,” Vargas said. “Flooding due to clogged canals affects no one else but them.”
But the city government official has noticed some improvements.
The 9th to 14th Lacson Street are identified flood-prone areas.
Floodwater there could reach as high as one foot but – unlike before when it would linger for a while after the rain – it would subside as soon as the downpour stops, said Vargas.
In addition, with a P33-million allocation for its flood control program, the city government recently rehabilitated the drainage system in Barangay Pahanocoy, said Vargas./PN
