Occidental Mindoro town seeks DPWH help as floods brought P1.4B damage

CALAPAN CITY, Oriental Mindoro — The municipal government of Sablayan in Occidental Mindoro has sought assistance from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) for the construction and rehabilitation of flood control projects and riverbanks.

This comes following damage estimated at P1.43 billion from successive weather disturbances.

Municipal Administrator Norman Novio on Sunday (August 23) said that the local government had asked the DPWH District Engineering Office to repair damaged sections of flood control and riverbank protection facilities in the municipality.

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“The continuous heavy rainfall and increased river discharge have resulted in strong water currents, scouring and erosion along the riverbank,” Novio told the Inquirer.

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He said the existing riverbank protection system had significantly deteriorated and can no longer withstand rising water levels and strong river flows.

The request came as Sablayan continues to recover from widespread damage caused by Tropical Cyclones Luis and Maymay and the southwest monsoon (habagat).

The municipality was placed under a state of calamity after the municipal council approved the declaration during its 51st regular session on Aug. 14.

The action was recommended by the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.

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According to the Sablayan Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, all 22 barangays were affected.

Three barangays had earlier declared their own states of calamity.

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The municipality’s final damage assessment put total losses at over P1.4 billion.

Infrastructure sustained the largest share of the damage at about P1.38 billion, affecting flood-control structures, roads, bridges and seawalls. /apl