CONCLUDING REPORT“Roadmap Toward Effective Flood Hazard
Mapping in the Philippines”

Prepared by:
HILARIO G. ESPERANZAPAGASA (WEATHER BUREAU), Department of Science & Technology
Email Address: lgesperanza@yahoo.com

The Curriculum
All parts of the curriculum were impressive, insightful and relevant
especially the Flood Fighting Law in Japan and the preparation of the FloodHazard Map. They improved my knowledge on hydrology, post flood
investigation procedures and river engineering. My technical know-how onthe methods to disseminate public awareness on flood damage mitigation
was also enhanced. I consider topics on Flood runoff and inundation
analysis; Effectiveness and Challenges of Flood Hazard Map. Althoughmost of the topics in these subjects were quite familiar, still the Course hadserved as refresher trainees. Lectures on Effectiveness of Flood Hazard
Maps and its Challenges (with the Tsunami Simulator Presentation) werevery impressive and insightful. This is the area where the Philippines need to
be enhanced and from these, collaborative efforts with other concerned
agencies can be initiated to improve the disaster mitigating capabilities ofour country.
The Role of Flood Hazard Maps to Mitigate Flood Damages in thePhilippines
Philippines lies within the typhoon belt and because of this, the country
often suffers from occurrence of natural disasters, floods and typhoons inparticular, which has become an important factor adversely affect oureconomic development and social stability. Although many of theseemergency situations could not be prevented, but its disastrous effects cancertainly be mitigated if appropriate measures are adopted. This can beachieved by proper understanding of the hazards. But the extraordinary
nature of these disasters can be mitigated if not prevented through “effectivecontingency planning”. Effective contingency planning involves a predictiveresponse element to an impending emergency by ensuring the availability offinancial, human and material resources. The very essence of this plan is toset-up a network of volunteers, who will be on-call during the occurrence ofa disaster to coordinate individuals, agencies and organizations to affect a
rapid and effective response. This is where Flood Hazard Map plays animportant role. The Flood Hazard Map would guide the residents and flood
managers to act decisively and accordingly.
In my area of responsibility especially the Agno River Basin, FHM canmitigate and reduce damages in terms of lives and properties thru a good andvery informative but easy to understand by the residents. Like in our case if
there is a weather disturbance and expected to hit our basin we issued flood
forecast and warning and disseminate the information ahead of time to theresidents using the present assessment level and flood forecasting model in
our telemetered water level station or what we called it real time data. So if
we have the FHM we can easily identify thus areas to be inundated (depthand flood extent) and thus people expected to affect flooding can prepare
much longer time before the flood occurs. Therefore, in addition of FHM
in our flood warning, more accurate than the existing one.

Barangay (BarangayCoordinating Council

Provide details history of inundations of rivers

Municipalities/Cities(CoordinatingCouncil)

Provide additional statistical data and other details ofeach Barangay Create/Implement policies on local
flood management.

Provincial
Government(Provincial Disaster)
Coordinating Council)

Collate Data and create/approved/implement somepolicies in flood management both local and nationallevel

NDCC headed byFlood
Mapping
Preparation

Dept. of National
Defense / Office ofCivil Defense

Government Lead
Agencies, DPWH,and PAGASA/DOSTUse FHM for Flood Mitigation (NonStructural and Structural)

Dissemination

The Allocation of Roles in Making Flood Hazard Maps in my Country

ACTUAL FLOOD DAMAGES
July 12, 2002 Forty-one (41) people have died in the aftermath of four daysof heavy rains and strong winds brought about by the southwest monsoon,according to the Office of Civil Defense. Among the fatalities are a fiveyear-old boy in Pangasinan and a two-year-old girl in Bulacan. Apart from
Jake Sison, 5, of Barangay Angarian in Bugallon town, three others drownedin Pangasinan: Gerald Sison, 14, of Barangay Telbang in Alaminos City;
Leopoldo Fernando, 16, of Barangay Umando in Malasigui town, and NenaLopez, 54, of Barangay Turac, San Carlos City. A fifth fatality, CarlitoNavarro, 56, of Rizal Street, Dagupan City, was electrocuted. Floods haveaffected 16,672 families in 22 towns and three cities in Pangasinan anddamaged crops in 3,871 farmlands. Damage to crops and fishery resources
has been estimated at P18.7 million. Pangasinan Gov. Victor Agbayani hasordered the provincial disaster coordinating council to deploy an engineeringcrew at the Gualsic-Caranglaan dike to protect the towns of Malasiqui andAlcala from rampaging floodwaters. The most affected areas in Pangasinan
are Urdaneta City and the towns of Calasiao, Bautista, Bugallon,Mangatarem, Urbiztondo, Malasiqui, San Fabian, Sta. Barbara, Bayambang,San Jacinto, San Manuel, Sta. Maria, Sison, Agulla, and Labrador. In
Dagupan City, the city disaster coordinating center has started relief
operations in barangays which floodwaters had heavily damaged. ThePhilippine National Red Cross chapter in Pangasinan has also started
distributing relief goods to some 300 families in Barangays Warding andManagos in Bayambang town. At least 583 barangays in 57 municipalities
and three cities in Central Luzon have remained underwater following fourdays of heavy rains.
2004 Typhoon “Chedeng”, Damages - P49M
The Pangasinan Provincial Disaster Coordinating Council reported thatdamages brought by typhoon Chedeng to crops, fisheries, livestock andinfrastructures amounted to P49,197,060. Topping the list was the damage tofisheries, which amounted to P31.11 million, followed by infrastructure with
P17.54 million. Partial damage to crops amounted to P36,220 while
livestock damage was estimated at P511,440. The total number of cities andtowns affected by the typhoon were 39 with 394 villages that suffered fromthe strong winds of Chedeng and the floodwaters it brought. There were35,293 families affected, numbering 160,250 persons.
Reporting in behalf of Governor, infrastructure damages concern mostly on
roads, eroded shoulders, road potholes, washed out or damaged surface
materials and scoured bridge approaches as reported by the threeengineering districts of the Department of Public Works and Highways(DPWH) and the provincial engineering office. Damaged road lines in thefirst district were reported to cost P2.1 million; second district, P1.3 million;
third district, P10 million; fourth district, P570,000; fifth district, P720,000;
and sixth district, P2.75 million.
Damage to the Cawacalan Bridge along Sta. Maria-Balungao road inBalungao, whose approaches were scoured by the flood, was estimated atP100,000.
Livestock damage in Alaminos City and the towns of Bolinao, Malasiquiand Sta. Barbara was estimated to be P511,440. Some 150 fruit-bearing andnon-fruit bearing mango trees in Barangays Laguit Padilla, Cayanga, Porticand Hacienda in Bugallon town were uprooted by typhoon Chedeng.
Counter Measures for Mitigating Flood Damages¾Non-structural – this measures are being carried out by PAGASA andvarious government agencies (local and national)o Creation of Flood Hazard Mapso Establish additional permanent resettlement sites and evacuation
centers.
o Programs on Flood Precautionary measures and Flood Management
Policies such as;- Land Zoning- Watershed Management- Reforestation- Flood Forecasting and Warning¾

Structural – these measures are being carried out by the Department ofPublic Works and Highways.
o Continuous seminars and trainings on the effective design,
construction and maintenance and monitoring of present status offlood control structures includes levees, dikes, retaining wall cut-offchannels/diversion canals and SABO works.

Actions To Be Undertaken• Within one (1) year- Make Flood Hazard Map for the target
areas in Sinocalan River Sub-basin.
Sinocalan River sub-basin is a part of theAgno River Basin. This area is chosenconsidering the following:(1) It was severely hit by a flood event yearly
especially in the month of July up October.
(2) Its proximity to the main Flood
Forecasting Office as compared to other river
basins. Ground-truthing, data gathering andother activities would be easily carried outwith minimal expense considering the limited
budget of the office.
(3) Our Flood Forecasting Office has initiallyestablished some tie-ups with local administration for the implementationof certain activities (i.e., public information drives, establishment offlood markers, among others.)(4) Availability of some data
(5) The area has been the subject of some project studies and thesis.
These initial studies will be important inputs to this undertaking.
• Short Term Project- Conduct study on the feasibility of producing a Flood Hazard Map forcities/municipalities within existing telemetered river basins, incoordination with colleague/co-trainee.
- Conduct training for Flood Hazard Mapping and introduce theadvantages of Flood Hazard Maps to my office and other agencies aswell in the local government units.
Considering the task, as well as great financial requirement of producing
flood hazard maps, this proposal can be collaborated with the Local
Government Units. To further explain to them the importance of having theFHM, this can be done during the conduct of the Public Information Drive.
In this manner, the localities can be educated on the importance of the FHM
and thus could assist in the out-sourcing of budgeting requirements for thisendeavor.

• Mid/Long-term Project- Improvement of the present format of the Flood Bulletins/Information
which our office is issuing by incorporating some basic points fromFlood Hazard Map.
One of the main operational services of our Agency, thru its Flood
Forecasting Branch (FFB), is the issuance of flood forecasts, warnings andother relevant information whenever there is an impending flood. The format
is basically text message which tells something about the present
hydrometerological condition of the river basin, quantitative information on
rainfall and water level and the hydrological forecast on what would be theeffect of such condition within the next 6-12 hours. By incorporating some“basic” aspects drawn from Flood Hazard Maps (such as inundation patterns,
available evacuation shelters and routes, important telephone numbers, andsome information that would easily understand by the people.), the localities
will have a clearer picture on the effect of the RR data within their area thus,
can act accordingly. Furthermore, the people involved in rescue and relief
operations can systematically re-align their actions to give emphasis on
some areas that need to be prioritized. Although some might not be feasibleat the moment, but steps will definitely be undertaken and that collaboration
with the proper channels will be done so that a core group could be created
to execute the proposal. In this manner, the disaster management program of
the country could also be improved and enhanced.
• Before the next batch of trainees
In the event that projects/initiatives described above are put into operation,
the candidates for the next training must be involved in all the activities ofsuch undertakings. This is not only to prepare training but also for Training
Proponent in all endeavors of the Agency in relation to this training.
Furthermore, since the training could serve as an avenue of discussion andexchange of ideas, the next trainee can very well contribute something,which the trainees from other countries could adapt in their area of operation.
Advice / Suggestions for Effective Flood Management in Japan
Japan at present has already developed a well-coordinated and multidisciplinary method of flood management. However, this should mean that
the Government of Japan would stop at this point. Further review of its
existing flood hazard maps, programs and other legislations is needed tocome up with more finite programs that would cater to the specific needs ofthe end-user. Furthermore, during the conduct of information education
campaign, dialogues with the localities could be done to access theeffectivity of each counter-measure that is being adapted. Although this isalready being done on the part of the disaster centers, let us not discount thepossibility of further improving the existing system. The FHM might havebeen too complicated for a common person to comprehend or understand.
Many things had also been identified during the discussion on Townwatching activity. I would say those are very relevant to my area ofoperation. Provision of signages for flood evacuation routes and location ofevacuation centers are quite simple proposals but have proven to be effective.
However, such signages should be bilingual so that foreign participants canalso comprehend the said information.
Finally, the increasing trend of the number of elderlies as well as thechildren should be given consideration in the planning stage of flood
management programs.
Advice / Suggestions for More Meaningful Training Course
All the knowledge gained should be passed on to the next participants forthem to realize that this is a “Focused Training Course”. It is not enough tojust listen to lectures; that exchange of information on the applicability of
the lectures in one’s area of operation is very necessary. It is also importantto present something from their own sides: specifically their country’s
condition on flooding and all efforts initiated by their government in abating
the ill-effects of this disaster. In this manner, every participant can benefit
from the actions undertaken by the others, which is part of the learning
process being aimed by the Training Course. It is also very important tointeract and ask what is vague that needs further explanation.
Finally, some important topics and activities should be provided with alonger time like for example the flood modeling must be given more time tofamiliarize the participants in using the latest software. It will be the basic
tool to determine the depth and inundation areas (extent of flooding). If thecourse duration is impossible to extend to consider some important topics, orif not shortened some topics that are not really close to the proper course.