'Storm surge made Camanava dike useless'

MANILA, Philippines - A storm surge caused by typhoon “Pedring” rendered the unfinished Camanava dike project useless, Navotas Mayor John Rey Tiangco said yesterday.

“Floodwaters just flowed over the megadike,” he told reporters at a news forum at the Rembrandt Hotel.

The Department of Public Works and Highways started constructing the flood control project in 2003 and was supposed to completed it in 2007. The dike remains unfinished, Tiangco said, noting that the national government allocated P3.5 billion to address the perennial flooding in the Caloocan-Malabon-Navotas-Valenzuela area.

Tiangco said the city government is set to construct a 3.5-kilometer coastal dike he expects to be completed in one year, and increase the height of the part of the Camanava dike running through the city.

Navotas is also looking for settlement sites for some 8,000 residents living along the coastline and waterways, he added.

“We will be coordinating with the national government to implement a long-term anti-flooding program in the city,” Tiangco said.