Cebu City to Undertake Dredging Project

The Cebu City Council has declared the entire city under a state of calamity, following the flooding in many areas in the city on Thursday.

The heavy rains starting Wednesday night and the flash floods prompted city official to suspend classes in all levels in both public and private schools Thursday.

The declaration of a state of calamity will allow the Cebu City Government to undertake emergency flood control projects.

Rivers will be dredged while creeks, drainage systems and other waterways will be declogged as a temporary solution to the flooding problem.

Cebu City Councilor Gerardo Carillo, who chairs the council’s committee on social services, said dredging and declogging waterways can address the problem but these will only be temporary solutions.

He said that the Department of Engineering and Public Works (DEPW) may charge the projects to the Php200-million lump sum appropriation for drainage projects this year.

The city has yet to determine how much these projects would cost.