Photo shows Balasan, Iloilo after Typhoon Ursula ravaged the town. (PNA photo)
Continuous deforestation in the mountains of northern Iloilo aggravated the vast flooding that sank several towns in the 5th district of the province that experienced the wrath of typhoon “Ursula”, according to Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr. The heavy downpour caught people by surprise forcing them to evacuate to the upper floors and rooftops of their homes. Vehicles were swept away by surging flood waters that rose hastily. Six family members in Batad town died while trying to flee the powerful floods.
Defensor said the surging waters came from the heavily denuded forests. “The trees in the mountains serve as sponge so when the rains pour, it will delay instead of rushing down,” he said.
Relentless cutting of trees and extensive corn plantations are the primary cause of the deforestation of the mountains in northern Iloilo according to Defensor.
Chinky Diolosa, municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office officer, revealed that all 23 barangays in Balasan also met the same fate with massive floods submerging the municipality.
Defensor plans to extend the tree planting activities in the mountains to reclaim secondary forest as part of his long-term solution to the flooding problem.
“Our plan is to include in our programming for our expanded tree planting activities because our plan for 2020 is to expand our tree planting initiatives,” the governor added.
Defensor added that numerous trees that have been cut down in the mountains must be replaced to mitigate soil erosion and water gushing downhill at high speeds.
“The program we are pursuing is the recovery of the secondary forest, you can use fruit bearing trees, we can plan coffee and cacao and the hills and mountain of fifth district are just one of the among the areas that we want to recover,” the governor added. (RJ Espartinez)