It no longer takes a typhoon to cripple Metro Manila with snarled traffic because heavy rainfall caused by climate change is now the “new normal” according to a report from the Manila Observatory at the Ateneo de Manila in Quezon City.
The Manila Observatory recorded heavy rain on June 17, the night that Metro Manila turned into a parking lot. Rain in San Juan, West Rembo, Guadalupe, Navotas, Tayuman, and Payatas exceeded the 50 millimeters of rain per hour that the Metro Manila Development Authority uses as a rainfall threshold for flood-prone areas.
Rain in San Juan reached 114.6 mm while rain in Makati was recorded at between 73mm to 75mm.
The Manila Observatory said it didn’t help that heavy rains coincided with the rush hour, trapping motorists in parts of C-5 and EDSA as well as on other major roads like Taft Avenue in Pasay and Aurora Boulevard in Cubao.
“The runoff may have also overwhelmed local drainage canals and waterways. This, along with other factors such as slope, obstructions or construction on the road, also may have contributed to the flashfloods and caused several choke points along the flood-prone areas along EDSA and C-5,” it said.
“In a megacity like Metro Manila, the risk of traffic chaos is high when combined with heavy rainfall, a high volume of cars, vulnerable roads and few alternatives to major thoroughfares. Similar to Monday night, the heaviest rain can pour at peak travel times and many motorists may be trapped for hours in bad traffic as a result. Climate change threatens to make these situations worse because of the potential for more extreme rain,” the Manila Observatory said.
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Photo: Manila Observatory Facebook page
