Quezon City Experiences Record-Breaking Rainfall, Floods 36 Barangays

Quezon City faced extraordinary rainfall on Saturday, surpassing levels recorded during Typhoon Ondoy in 2009, resulting in widespread flooding across 36 barangays in three districts. According to local government officials, the intense downpour overwhelmed the city's drainage infrastructure, leading to significant flood incidents.

A preliminary report based on data from the University of the Philippines (UP) Resilience Institute and the UP NOAH Center, utilizing inputs from PAGASA and the city’s IRISEUP monitoring system, noted an alarming 121 millimeters of rain within a single hour. This exceeded Ondoy’s peak hourly rainfall, which was approximately 90 millimeters.

Experts characterized the rainfall as "phenomenal," with particularly heavy precipitation observed in Quezon City and the nearby area of Nangka in Marikina. Floodwaters inundated parts of Districts 1, 3, and 4, including zones not usually prone to flooding.

The city government acknowledged the drainage systems could not handle the rapid influx of water, stating, "Hindi kinaya ng drainage system ng lungsod ang napakaraming tubig-ulan sa napakaikling oras kaya nagresulta ito ng malalang pagbaha."

Flooding caused disruptions to traffic and daily activities, but waters receded swiftly. Officials credited the Department of Engineering’s proactive and continuous efforts to clear drainage channels ahead of the rains for mitigating prolonged inundation.

Additionally, the Department of Sanitation and Cleanup Works was deployed to remove debris and displaced household items obstructing waterways, which contributed to the flooding.

Despite acknowledging the severity of the situation, the local government reaffirmed its commitment to long-term solutions. "Agaran at tuloy-tuloy na pagsasaayos ng drainage system ang sinisikap nating solusyunan base na rin sa isinasaad ng Drainage Master Plan ng lungsod," the statement explained.

The Drainage Master Plan (DMP) is the city’s strategic framework for flood management. City officials emphasized that future flood control projects must be evidence-based and subject to local review, cautioning against external proposals that lack official evaluation.

"Patuloy na isusulong ng lokal na pamahalaan na ganap na maipatupad ang nilalaman ng DMP bilang pangmatagalan at epektibong solusyon sa pagbaha sa lungsod," the city government concluded.