IS FLOOD CONTROL TOTALLY IMPOSSIBLE?

IS FLOOD CONTROL TOTALLY IMPOSSIBLE?

Dear Mr. President: I beg to disagree with those who have already said that there is no solution to the problem of flooding and that the government could no longer do anything about it. I believe in the saying that for every problem, there is always a solution. Otherwise, mathematically speaking, it is not even a problem if it could not be solved. While it could be said that no country could claim that they have completely solved the problem of flooding, there are four countries that could rightfully claim that they have controlled flooding to a manageable level, which is good enough, I think.

To be fair, Mr. President, our people are not really expecting the government to end flooding once and for all. As it is written in our laws and in our budget appropriations, our objective is simply to control the floods, hence the so-called “flood control” projects. I think that in terms of public opinion, the public does not really mind seeing a few inches of flood water every now and then, if it does not stay too long and as long as it does not become too deep. That I think, is the layman interpretation of “flood control”.

In the case of the Netherlands, they are renowned for their advanced flood management systems. They have implemented an extensive network of dikes, levees and storm surge barriers. These measures have greatly reduced the risk of flooding in that country, according to Microsoft Copilot. Most of these measures were built in Amsterdam, their capital city.

In the case of Japan, they have invested heavily in flood control infrastructure and early warning systems. They have constructed numerous dams, reservoirs and river embankments to manage flood waters. According to Copilot, they also have sophisticated meteorological technology that “helps provide early warning” to their citizens. I think that Japan is primarily afraid of earthquakes, but they know that floods could also happen along with earthquakes.

In the case of Singapore, they have adopted a comprehensive approach to flood management, through infrastructure systems that include drainage canals, storm water collection ponds and pumping stations. Aside from that, they also have advanced technologies to monitor and predict flood risks. If I am not mistaken, they are probably using sensors for data gathering along with data analytics.

In the case of South Korea, they have implemented flood management technologies such as the construction of reservoirs (like Japan has done) and flood control dams (also like Japan has done). They also focused on urban planning and green infrastructure to reduce the impact of floods. Most likely, their reservoirs could be connected to their dams.

In all the four countries that I named, the availability of efficient garbage collection was not mentioned, because I think that is a given, meaning that it is not a problem for them, as it is ours. The availability of sewerage systems was also not mentioned, because I also think that is not a problem for them, as it is to us. Both told, we have two more problems that the four countries do not have.

Mr. President, I still have faith that whatever these four countries have done to solve the problem of flooding in their cities, we could also do. For sure, we do not lack the good engineers that we need to build the infrastructure that we need. We could not discount the possibility that some of these projects could still fall victim to corruption, but perhaps, public vigilance plus your direct supervision could minimize it. And if you will need computer science to solve the problem of flooding, our group of volunteers is ready to help. IKE SENERES/10-28-2024