Only a few thousand hectares of Metro Manila land, which is equivalent to the area of one town, is expected to suffer from flooding during this rainy season, Chairman Bayani Fernando of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) said Monday.
Fernando said the MMDA expects only 2,000 hectares of Metro Manila to experience intermittent flooding during the rainy season, down from the 13,000 hectares that is usually flooded in the past.
Fernando said the MMDA worked all throughout the dry months to rid the floodgates in Metro Manila of garbage, boulders and other debris. Blocked canals and waterways have also been cleared, he added.
He said the agency has also finished fixing five flood pumps in the Camanava (Caloocan, Malabon, Navotas, Valenzuela) area.
The Camanava area is the most problematic district in Metro Manila during the rainy season. A few hours of continuous raining submerges several villages in the area under knee-deep to waist-level flooding.
Fernando said the MMDA is also clearing some areas in San Juan City and in Manila in preparation for the rainy season.