Mayor credits drainage upgrades for reduced Habagat flooding

By Rjay Zuriaga Castor and Aiya Cantomayor

Iloilo City Mayor Raisa Treñas-Chu said the city’s disaster preparedness measures, including the prepositioning of relief supplies, early risk assessments, and continuous drainage maintenance, helped lessen the impact of the enhanced southwest monsoon and Typhoon Inday on residents over the weekend.

The southwest monsoon, locally known as the Habagat, combined with the typhoon to bring days of heavy rain across the region.

Treñas-Chu, on Monday, July 13, said the city has already seen significant improvement in the situation.

Fewer than 80 families remained in evacuation centers as of Sunday, with most displaced residents having returned to their homes.

The city mayor noted that while flooding occurred in some areas, the city was spared from the worst effects of the weather disturbance because rainfall was not as intense as initially expected.

She said relief operations were immediately carried out because food packs and other assistance had already been prepositioned in each district before the weather disturbance.

“We had already prepositioned assistance in every district, allowing us to distribute food and other relief items to affected families much more quickly,” she said.

Treñas-Chu said one of the city’s key improvements in disaster preparedness has been conducting Pre-Disaster Risk Assessment (PDRA) meetings not only at the city level but also in every district.

She said the city began its PDRA as early as Tuesday to ensure agencies and local officials were prepared before the onset of severe weather.

The district-level assessments also involved Association of Barangay Captains (ABC) presidents, who coordinated preparedness efforts among barangays.

“The district ABC presidents have become active partners in our disaster preparedness initiatives, allowing for better coordination before emergencies occur,” she said.

The city mayor also attributed the reduced flooding in several areas to the city’s continuing drainage improvement program.

According to Treñas-Chu, Iloilo City has five teams dedicated exclusively to drainage declogging operations throughout the city.

She added that improved coordination with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has enhanced the connection between local drainage systems and national drainage infrastructure.

“In the past, flooding was not simply caused by inadequate drainage capacity but by poor connectivity between the local and national drainage systems. That coordination has greatly improved, together with our continuous declogging operations,” she said.

She added that barangays are also being encouraged to align their local drainage projects with the city’s master plan to improve water flow in residential communities, in addition to major roads.

“We are guiding barangays to align their drainage projects with the city’s overall drainage plan because, aside from our major roads, local drainage improvements are equally important for our communities,” Treñas-Chu said.

Over the weekend, heavy rains triggered flooding in at least 35 barangays in the city.

The flooding forced the evacuation of 1,371 residents from 400 families.

As of Monday morning, flooding had already subsided in eight barangays, while 27 barangays remained inundated.

Initial damage assessment by the City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO) identified three partially damaged houses — one in Barangay Balantang and two in Barangay San Roque, both in Jaro.

The damage affected three families, or 15 individuals, after strong winds and falling trees struck their homes.

The flooding in Iloilo City coincided with wider damage across Western Visayas, where the enhanced southwest monsoon and Typhoon Inday triggered landslides, road erosion, and infrastructure damage over the weekend.

More than 29,000 people across the region were affected, and two farmers in Iloilo province died in separate weather-related incidents, according to the Department of Social Welfare and Development Field Office 6.