On rainy Monday, June 17, thousands of motorists were trapped in unusual extreme traffic along major thoroughfares in Metro Manila. Commuters spent hours on Edsa and on C-5 only to ply a few kilometers, w/ some even giving up and walking in the rain. Some reported experience similar to being trapped in a parking lot. Many attributed cause of tied-up traffic to the rains and the subsequent floods brought by Tropical Storm “Emong.”MMDA has pegged 50 mm as an hourly accumulated rainfall threshold for floods to occur in flood-prone(!!!SO FIX THOSE UP, DPWH!!!) areas. For reference, during Tropical Storm “Ondoy” (Ketsana) in 2009, a total of 270 mm fell in 6 hours w, a peak rate of 61 mm per hour. Ondoy dumped a total 370 mm in 24 hours. Based on the results of the analysis, Metro Manila received the biggest volume of rain on June 17 from around 3 p.m. to 8 p.m.Progression of heavy rain showed rain pathway moved southward.Heaviest rainfall coincided w/ rush hour, when most motorists & commuters on the road to get home. There was scant recorded rainfall before 3 p.m. so ground & other pathways where rain could flow were not necessarily saturated!!The sudden heavy rainfall within a few hours(!!)accumulated quickly and caused floods!! The runoff may have also overwhelmed PITIFULLY SMALL DPWH drainage canals and waterways. Along w/ other factors such as slope,obstructions or construction on the road, may have contributed to the flash floods and caused several choke points along the flood-prone areas of Edsa and C-5 NAD TRANSFORMING IT INO A GIANT PARKING LOT FOR 17 HOURS!!!
Posted on: Sun, 07 Jul 2013 05:42:13 +0000