MANILA, Philippines–In the aftermath of the two storms that hit the Luzon area in a span of one week, billions of pesos worth of property were damaged or completely destroyed. Now a storm of finger pointing has begun.

If there’s a bright side to this tragedy, it’s that “Ondoy” and “Pepeng” have unearthed a torrent of information about this big island we live in and the ever-changing climate swirling around us—information that would prove invaluable in the rebuilding and reconstruction efforts of the government and private sectors.

It’s time to let the people—the buyers, builders and sellers—know what works and what doesn’t, during extreme climate events. Inquirer Property asked some of the industry players what valuable lessons were learned from the recent catastrophes.

1. A geohazard map should be drawn. This map should be produced by the “real developer,” which is the government. “The government is the one who guides everyone where and what to develop. There has to be a general plan and the developers merely conform to it. If the local government says yes, this is suitable for development, then naturally we go ahead and develop. It all depends on government, in leadership,” said Ed Alunan, Subdivision and Housing Developers Association chair, in a phone interview.

He added that the hazard map has been a SHDA “mantra” since the Cherry Hills tragedy.

2. Metro Manila is already overpopulated. It took two superstorms to drive home a point that should have been obvious by now. But developers are not scientists or geologists, Alunan stressed. “We are there to fill in the gap, which is housing,” he added. “The problem with Metro Manila is that there is a sudden overpopulation over the past decade. Definitely the infrastructure cannot cope with the demand of the people to live and work in Metro Manila.

“If we are now to map (Metro Manila) and consider these once-in-a-century events, and then look at our geohazard map, then practically the entire metropolis is not supposed to be developed.”

3 .Raise the “limitation standards” to accommodate a more vicious cycle of weather disturbances, Alunan said. He added that these standards need to be set as quickly as possible in the light of the Philippines being in an active weather system area.

4. The garbage has to go. The city’s garbage magnifies the extent of the damage of nature’s wrath.

5. Flood studies take decades, and it’s a prerequisite to development. Alveo Land claims, in its “How to Build Against the Forces of Nature” release sent to Inquirer Property that it has conducted a multidecade flood study for each of its developments to study the possible progression of floodwaters in an area through the years. As a result, its developments have up to 2 meters of engineered fill to keep the flood from entering. It also conducts land layering processes wherein compactness is tested for every 12 inches of soil, eliminating the possibility of landslides.

“We also have detention ponds against flooding and downstream erosion by storing water for a limited period of time. This is to manage excess run-off by allowing large amounts of water to enter but limits the outflow to protect the structure and not to cause damages downstream,” said Kiko Francisco, project director of Alveo Land.

“Celadon Manila and Ametta Place, our existing developments in flood-susceptible areas of Manila and Pasig, have proven to be Ondoy-proof; our future developments will do even more in the interest of safety,” he claimed.

6. There have been stronger typhoons in the past. There will be even stronger ones in the future. That is why developers such as Alveo Land continue to conduct wind tunnel tests of their high-rise developments based on the wind forces of past supertyphoons.

Source: Inquirer http://showbizandstyle.inquirer.net/lifestyle/lifestyle/view/20091016-230420/6-lessons-typhoons-imparted-on-developers