Cagayan de Oro flood control project construction. (Photo: Courtesy of Project LUPAD)
Flood-mitigation infrastructure built in the southern Philippines for more than $100 million by clearing native vegetation could exacerbate flood risk in the future, reports Mongabay’s Keith Anthony Fabro.
In 2011, floods and landslides caused by Tropical Storm Washi, known locally as Sendong, killed more than 1,260 people in the cities of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan. The disaster prompted the government to spend 8.5 billion pesos ($144 million) to build flood-mitigation infrastructure like dikes, flood walls and drainage inlets between 2019 and 2023. These are meant to protect 614 hectares (1,517 acres) of area from flooding caused by the overflowing Cagayan de Oro River.
