• CHERYL G. CRUZ
The Sangguniang Panlungsod reiterated the need to declog canals/drainage system to prevent flooding and the rise of waterborne diseases in Bacolod City.
This as the Bacolod Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office logged flooding incidents along Araneta-Alijis Road, Old Airport, Araneta Street Manville, Girl Scout headquarters and Araneta Street flyover, 1st and 3rd Road Puentebella in Barangay Taculing;
Lacson Extension Magsaysay Avenue, Hernaez Street, Bacolod City National High School, Corazon Aquino Drive, Anchorville in Barangay Punta Taytay, Palanca Street at SM City Bacolod, and at Tinagong Paraiso in Barangay Banago, among others, as of 2:30 this morning, July 24, following a heavy downpour due to the southwest monsoon enhanced by “Carina”, that has intensified into a super typhoon, as of the 5 p.m. bulletin of the DOST-PAGASA.
The DRRMO said that flooding at the Araneta flyover and Araneta-Alijis Road old airport subsided around 4 a.m., so its Emergency Response Services (ERS) personnel conducted an initial clearing of drainage inlets that were found clogged by mixed garbage.
Councilor Claudio Jesus “Kalaw” Puentevella, chairperson of the SP committees on Health and Sanitation, and of Environment and Ecology, said that “clogged, broken, unrepaired, or uncleaned drainage, canals, and other waterworks cause flooding and increase the likelihood of floods.”
Flooding, in turn, poses a health risk and water borne diseases, Puentevella stressed, hence his resolution that was approved during the SP regular session this afternoon, July 24.
The councilor also authored a resolution enjoining all punong barangays to intensify the campaign against the threat of leptospirosis this rainy season, in coordination with the City Health Office.
There were 10 cases of leptospirosis with three deaths logged in Bacolod since the start of this year, with three new infections reported, as of the July 7-13 monitoring of CHO.
“There is a need for the City of Bacolod to intensify the campaign and information drive against the health hazard posed by leptospirosis,” Puentevella said, adding that, according to the World Health Organization, the bacteria leptospira “are released in the environment by the urine of animals, like rats, and transmission to humans occurs through contact with infected animals or contaminated water.” | CGC
