Geology expert warns wall against storm surges will not necessarily prevent disaster

MANILA, Philippines — Proponents of the Manila Bay reclamation allayed fears that the project would set off a catastrophe similar to what happened to Tacloban City, saying that sea walls meant to reflect waves would lessen the strength of storm surges.

This was refuted, however, by a marine geology expert, citing the lack of systematic data on storm surges to properly engineer a defense against it.

The issue of storm surge was raised during the public hearing for the ECC (environmental compliance certificate) application of the Manila Goldcoast Development Corp. for a 148-hectare reclamation project on Manila Bay.

A storm surge is an abnormal rise in water level caused primarily by strong winds due to the presence of a typhoon. Tacloban City and other parts of Visayas are still reeling from the devastation caused by storm surges as high as 5 meters when “super typhoon Yolanda” (international name Haiyan) struck. In 2011, storm surge brought by typhoon “Pedring” also inundated the City of Manila.

“If reclamation is done properly, it can actually help the coastline be resilient to storm surges,” claimed Blair Spendelow, section head for marine modeling of DHI Singapore, an independent environmental consultant hired by Goldcoast to make assessments on the impact of reclamation and calculate the engineering parameters to mitigate flooding and storm surges.

But according to Kelvin Rodolfo, PhD, professor emeritus of the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at University of Illinois in Chicago, there is no sufficient data to design appropriate shoreline defenses.

“How can you properly engineer if you don’t know the forces you are trying to contain?” Rodolfo said. “Even if you know now what you’re up against, what is it going to be like 20 or 30 years from now?”

Rodolfo said typhoons have been increasing in strength through the years.

“The problem is, they’re thinking of profits and not concerned with what happens afterwards. They don’t care about the potential loss in lives,” he said.

Manila Archbishop Luis Cardinal Tagle, in a video shown at the public hearing held at Delpan Sports Complex in Tondo, stressed the importance of stewardship and good governance in the use of resources for the common good.

“Hindi sapat na gawin ang proyekto para sa tutubuin ng iilan, para sa kapakanan ng iilan (It’s not enough that a project is done for the profit of a few, for the interest of the few,” Tagle said.

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