Typhoons from the Pacific: Ondoy (2009) and Ulysses (2020) Effects to the River Marikina

Nomer Guiller Angeles, University of Santo Tomas - Manila / University of the Philippines - Diliman

Typhoons strike the Philippines more than ten times a year. Two typhoons from the past years greatly affected the East of the Capital, Marikina City. It is known as the Shoe capital of the Philippines. Urbanization and Industrialization greatly affected the territory which made the city populated because of the proximity of it to the different business districts. The Landuse changes throughout her history made more commercial industries and residential houses near the River Marikina making it more prone to flooding. At first, these developments were positive to the Marikeños because these are indicators of economic growth. But nature's wrath affected the city; Typhoon Ondoy brought rains that flooded and devastated major areas of the city. The tragedy became a wake-up call to the government and the Marikeños, that made them rehabilitate the River. More policies and programs were made for flood control projects and river development. Sadly, the Covid-19 pandemic happened and halted some projects for the river. Also, Typhoon Ulysses affected the city just like Typhoon Ondoy, but now the Marikeños were more ready to face the floods but with the fear of getting sick of Covid-19. The Marikeños' resiliency and the effective governance of the leaders made Marikeños safe from the flood and Covid-19.

No extended abstract or paper available

 Presented in Session 6. Environmental and economic transformations