Aug16Written by:host
8/16/2012 4:58 PM 
Filipinos who live in the Laguna Lake and Manila Bay areas have encouraged President Aquino to prohibit the construction of malls and high-rises along major waterways, river systems, coastal shores and flood prone areas, which they claim exacerbate the flooding effects of typhoons and monsoon rains.
Four activist groups blamed frequent and destructive flooding on the appearance of shopping malls and high-rise buildings constructed along major bodies of water and lowland areas.
"These super infrastructures allowed to be built along major water systems, river banks, lakes and coastal areas should be largely blamed for the Ondoy like situation over the last two weeks," Fernando Hicap, a leader in the opposition, said in a press statement. “These multi-billion dollar projects...have impeded or caused major obstruction to the natural flow of water that resulted to massive and devastating flood all over the main capital and nearby provinces.”
Recent floods in the Philippines have brought international attention to the infrastructure and planning issues faced by the communities. Architecture for Humanity has launched rehabilitation efforts to help prevent similar problems in the future.
“Not only will an advanced team of architects, engineers, planners and community members work together to develop flood resistant developments for the Filipino people, they will also endeavour to educate them about the risks involved with living in flood zones and how they can further safeguard themselves from these events,” Architecture Source writes. Tags: