17-km dike to protect Cabanatuan from floods

CABANATUAN CITY — In 1936, a huge flood swept through a village here killing at least 1,000 people, prompting then Commonwealth President Manuel L. Quezon to order the construction of a dike to protect the community from similar disasters.

In 2015, massive floods and debris flow triggered by Typhoons “Lando” and “Nona” struck the villages here, including parts of the business center, destroying buildings and houses and displacing families.

This year, the city government will finally put up a 17-kilometer dike around Cabanatuan.

“The suffering endured by our residents here caused by those typhoons cannot be forgotten right away. We have to do something,” said Mayor Julius Caesar Vergara.

He said a dike around the city might prevent these from happening again.

Vergara also said a 1.2-km, three-lane bridge spanning the Pampanga River here is under construction to ease the flow of vehicles going to Cagayan Valley and back. —Anselmo Roque