Metro Manila, Philippines as one of the most susceptible to flood in South East Asia

Metro Manila is the most populous of the twelve defined metropolitan areas in the Philippines and the11th most populous in the world. It is also ranked as one of the provinces in South East Asia most vulnerable to flooding according to Economy and Environment Program for East Asia (EEPSA), a Singapore research group based.  This is mainly because the city is situated on an isthmus bounded by Laguna de Bay to the south-east and Manila Bay to the west, opening to the South China Sea. Metro Manila area lies on a wide flood plain composed mainly of alluvial soil deposits.  For weather specialist like PAGASA it is mainly for the reason that Philippines is prone to the tail end of “cold front” that causes lots of rainfall in a year.

Lambert Ramirez, executive director of the National Institute for Policy Studies, a Manila-based think tank, says much of the blame for poor urban management ought to be levelled at the government.  Ramirez believes that there is no coordinated policy for cleaning up garbage and no political will to get even simple things done. Neeraj Jain, country specialist for Philippines at the Asian Development Bank (ADB) which is based in Manila said that it is a phenomenon that will affect many major cities in Asia, “Urbanization has been rapid, yet planning processes have lagged.”


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