THE Marcos administration is racing to strengthen Metro Manila’s flood defenses as the Japan-backed Pasig-Marikina River Channel Improvement Project reaches 53-percent completion, with new structures expected to significantly reduce flooding in vulnerable communities.
Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon said on Monday that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has ordered the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to speed up construction of flood-mitigation structures along the Marikina River in partnership with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
Dizon said the project includes floodgates, pumping stations and other structures designed to improve the river’s capacity to drain floodwaters and regulate their flow toward the Manggahan Floodway.
The project is expected to reduce the areas vulnerable to flooding in the Pasig-Marikina River Basin by about 63 percent, providing greater protection to communities in Marikina, Pasig and other flood-prone areas, said Dizon.
“The project could prove crucial as Metro Manila braces for increasingly intense rainfall during the rainy season, with the Marikina River historically among the region’s most dangerous flood points,” he said.
The river runs through densely populated communities in Marikina and connects to the Pasig River system. During extreme rainfall, fast-rising water can spill over its banks and inundate low-lying areas.
When Typhoon Ondoy struck in September 2009, the Marikina River reached its highest recorded level. Ondoy dumped 455 millimeters of rain in just nine hours, the highest rainfall recorded in Metro Manila and nearby areas in 42 years.
