science literacy article 2

SCIENCE LITERACY ARTICLE 2 – for August 30, 2012

Metro Manila is sinking, says expert-

By Christina Mendez, The Philippine Star

Posted at 08/17/2012 9:15 AM | Updated as of 08/17/2012 9:15 AM

MANILA, Philippines - The entire Metro Manila has started to “sink” due to global warming and floods and to the rampant setting up of illegal fishponds in nearby provinces, an expert from the University of the Philippines’ Marine Institute said yesterday.

Fernando Siringan made the revelation when he faced the Senate committee on climate change. Siringan explained the cause of massive flooding in Metro Manila in recent weeks. “One major point is that the land in Malabon is sinking, and not only in Malabon. Actually, the entire Metro Manila is sinking. And you’ll have to consider that it’s sinking not slowly, it’s sinking at several centimeters per year,” Siringan said. He also said there is no sense in dredging rivers if it continues to be filled with trash. He said the rising sea level as well as oil subsidence should be considered in the conduct of anti-flood projects, especially in the Caloocan, Malabon, Navotas and Valenzuela (Camanava) area.

“There are places in Malabon and Pampanga where soil subsidence is at 10 centimeters and half a meter every year, respectively,” Siringan said. Sen. Loren Legarda, chairperson of the Senate committee on climate change, echoed Siringan’s statements. “This is not new because we have been saying this even before. Many areas are sinking every year so this should be incorporated in the planning of projects in the affected areas,” Legarda said.

Metro Manila Development Authority Chairman Francis Tolentino and other MMDA executives, meanwhile, were dumbfounded yesterday over the exposé of a senator that a number of the water pumping stations in Metro Manila and Bulacan failed to operate during the recent monsoon rains because of lack of diesel supply. When confronted by Senate minority leader Alan Peter Cayetano, Tolentino and MMDA engineer Emma Quiambao denied that other pumping stations ran out of gas. “So are you denying that (the pumping stations) in Binondo, Pandacan, San Andres... stopped because of lack of gasoline?” Cayetano asked the MMDA chairman during a Senate hearing yesterday. But Tolentino explained there were many reasons why there was flooding in the metropolis and this should not be entirely attributed to the pumping stations, which are old and outdated.

Tolentino also reported that there are nine flood-prone areas in the metropolis, excluding the Camanava area. “Metro Manila can never be flood resistant,” Tolentino said, adding that no amount of massive infrastructure development and effort to minimize trash can ensure a flood-free metropolis because a number of areas are “below sea level.”

PAGASA: No more cyclones expected in August

The rest of August will likely be cyclone-free as the Philippines had met its three-cyclone quota for the month, PAGASA said Saturday.PAGASA forecaster Fernando Cada said cyclones Helen and Igme already brought rain over the country, while Typhoon Julian is still in Philippine territory. He explained that the chances of having more cyclones is minimal. "Naka-'quota' na tayo sa Agosto. Tatlo ang pumasok," Cada said in an interview on dzBB radio, when asked if more cyclones are expected for the rest of August.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said Tropical Storm Helen (international name: Kai-Tak) developed east of Central Luzon last Aug. 11. Helen left at least 10 dead and 17 injured, and affected 3,423 families or 13,234 people. It also caused P125.130 million in damage. Igme left at least one person dead. The NDRRMC's Friday night report said at least one person, Amado Remando, 49, was missing.

Remando was swept away while crossing a river in Burgos in La Union, the NDRRMC said. But the biggest monsoon-related damage on the country in August came not from the three cyclones but from a tropical storm – Haikui – outside Philippine territory. Heavy monsoon rain enhanced by Haikui left 109 dead and 14 injured, and affected 934,285 families or 4,236,151 people. — LBG/TJD, GMA News

Sources:

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/metro-manila/08/17/12/metro-manila-sinking-says-expert (August 17, 2012)

http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/271125/news/nation/pagasa-no-more-cyclones-expected-in-august (August 25, 2012 8:04am)