Tags: Accidents and Tragedies, General News, Typhoons and Natural Disasters
By Alexander Villafania
CAGAYAN DE ORO, NORTHERN MINDANAO – If reports were true, the collapsed dams along the Cagayan de Oro River could have worsened the flash floods that caused massive damage and deaths during the onslaught of tropical typhoon “Sendong,” according to a top executive of the Department of Science and Technology (DoST).
In a statement, Science Secretary Mario Montejo said that reports of collapsed dams along Cagayan de Oro River are currently being investigated under instructions of President Benigno Aquino III.
Flash floods killed over 1,000 people in Cagayan de Oro and Iligan during the height of “Sendong’s” wrath last December 15.
“It is most likely that the flashflood in Cagayan de Oro was caused not only simply by the high volume of rain that fell in the watershed of rivers in said places but essentially of the reported collapse of dams at the upper parts of the rivers,” Montejo said in its statement.
Montejo quoted survivors of the flash floods, saying that there was a sudden surge of water. Continuous rains may have brought about the accumulation water just upstream of the dam. This could have caused the water to suddenly surge toward the dam, leading to the dam breaking.
Pictures of the destruction showed large volumes of mud and debris carried by the flashfloods, which showed how much water flowed and the speed that the water could have travelled.
Montejo also defended the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) after criticisms that it failed to report the possibility of a disaster from Sendong.
“Pagasa had been doing its job conscientiously,” Montejo assured. “In fact, places such as Bohol, Surigao, and Camiguin that heeded Pagasa’s warning and took appropriate actions had mitigated the effects of Sendong.”
He stressed that they will be upgrading Pagasa’s flood monitoring systems in 2012. In particular, 1,000 water level sensors in some major river basins will be installed. They would also be installing more Doppler radars, satellites, and automated weather systems.
“Since the 1980s, only four rivers were installed with sensors to measure water-level rise. The President has given instructions and allotted resources to fast-track our river monitoring system nationwide to aid in forecasting potential floods,” he said.
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