Filipinos battle rising sea on sinking island

Onthe Philippine island of Pugad, street food vendor Maria Tamayo wakes before her grandchildren to begin the backbreaking work of removing seawater from her home scoop by scoop with a plastic dustpan.

- Pam Castro, Agence France-Presse

The routine has been the same ever since the rising tides of Manila Bay began swallowing the island — a seven-hectare speck of land in danger of sinking completely underwater.

“Scooping water takes a long time. That's why my feet have started aching,” the 65-year-old said, adding that she can spend up to three hours a day at the task.

“I have to scoop out the water before my grandchildren wake up, or else they'll slip on the floor. But it's no use ... there's still water.”

Tamayo is one of 2,500 people living in Pugad’s only village. The island is not the only one at risk in coastal Bulacan. Parts of the province are sinking at a rate of almost II centimetres (4.3 inches) a year, the fastest in the Philippines, according to a study led by geologist Mahar Lagmay. The gradual sinking, known as land subsidence, is an “alarming” phenomenon caused by the overextraction of groundwater, and exacerbated by rising sea levels due to global warming, Lagmay said, “The rates of subsidence (on Pugad Island) are quite high,” he said, adding that while studies specific to the tiny island were lacking, existing data on surrounding areas told the story clearly.