Solutions backed by science key vs floods, expert says

The recent spate of flooding has compelled the Philippines to confront ineffective flood control projects and address the factors that made these deals problematic.

- EJ MACABABBAD

Drowned out in the political noise and the search for accountability are voices from an often-overlooked field crucial in tackling this decades-old issue: science.

Mahar Lagmay, executive director of the University of the Philippines Research Institute (UPRI), lamented the repeated mistakes made over the years by government officials.

"We've been doing flood control infrastructure for so long, and it's always been focused on cement. It should not be that way," he said during the Panatag event on flood resilience initiatives in Valenzuela yesterday.

Lagmay - who in 2012 launched Project NOAH (Nationwide Operational Assessment of Hazards), which provides hazard-specific, area-focused and time-bound warnings to local government units (LGUS) during disasters - stressed the need to rethink flood management strategies.

"A whole-of-society and science-based approach is important, where mayors and governors consult scientists to avoid implementing ineffective flood control measures," the government scientist said.

Much of the existing dikes and similar structures in the country are only designed for floods with a 50-year return period. However, flooding nowadays has a return period of 100 years, like what the metropolis endured during Typhoon Carina in 2024 and Typhoon Ulysses four years before that, and they're becoming more frequent.