City malls, businesses set up anti-flood measures

Commercial establishments and two malls in Cebu City are setting up their own flood mitigation measures for the rainy season.

In a press statement Cebu Holdings, Inc. corporate communications manager Jeanette Japzon said Cebu Business Park’s drainage system absorbed the floodwaters, causing it to subside quickly.

A two-hour downpour last July 20 flooded low-lying parts of Cebu City.

Cebu Holdings Inc. owns and operates Ayala Center Cebu at the Cebu Business Park.

“We were also able to quickly reroute traffic to prevent vehicles from being stranded along flooded roads,” she said.

About four inches of rainwater pooled in part of basement 1 near the mall’s west entry.

Japzon said the ongoing excavation of their building hit a pipe, so the water seeped into the basement instead of going into the drainage.

“The floodwaters subsided. There was no report of damage to property or the cars parked in the area. It was an isolated incident,” Japzon said.

Japzon said they are finalizing plans to upgrade their drainage systems and utilities to anticipate extraordinary situations brought about by climate change.

SM City Cebu in the North Reclamation Area was also affected by the heavy downpour last Saturday evening.

Mall manager Sherry Tuvilla said the flooding stranded many customers.

Tuvilla said there is a pending government project to rehabilitate the Mahiga Creek. The mall signed an agreement with the Cebu city government in January 2010 to partly fund this through an advance tax payment arrangement.

“Coordination with the City to pursue this critical project is continuing. Currently we are working with a designer for a water holding tank that can contain rainwater from the government drain line,” Tuvilla said. Reporter Aileen Garcia-Yap