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To mark this year’s Earth Science Week (14-19 October), international development charity Christian Aid is launching Big River Rising, an interactive documentary which demonstrates the importance of science in helping Filipino slum dwellers cope with flooding that claims innocent lives every year.
Photo credit- Christian Aid/ Matthew Gonzalez Noda
The monsoon and typhoon induced flooding, which hits the Philippines with brute force every year, is felt most keenly by more than two million urban slum dwellers (informal settlers) whose make-shift homes line the riverbanks of Metro Manila.
Photo credit- Christian Aid/ Matthew Gonzalez Noda
In the past informal settlers have relied upon the cries of their pigs (a valuable source of income) to alert them to rising flood waters. Pig pens are traditionally kept close to the riverbed so pigs are the first to be affected.
Photo credit- Christian Aid/ Matthew Gonzalez Noda
These days, instead of waiting for the pigs to cry, many communities (with help from Christian Aid and scientists working for the Manila Observatory) have learned to measure the river levels and predict the impact of flooding, using stream gauges. They have established escape routes and evacuation plans and learned how to search and rescue.
Photo credit- Christian Aid/ Matthew Gonzalez Noda
Belen de Guzman is a river monitor in Banaba, a small town on a very precarious stretch of the Marikina River. “Being a flood monitor is more than a job. I’m happy because I am able to help other people and my family as well. There are a lot of people who listen and depend on me. They ask if it’s time to pack and if it’s safe to go.”
Photo credit- Christian Aid/ Matthew Gonzalez Noda
Belen’s home (pictured here on 8 August 2012) is regularly submerged by floodwaters.
“During the months of August to December we experience seven or eight floods. I cannot describe how I feel. I sometimes panic but I know I have to be strong for my children. “
Photo credit- Christian Aid/ Matthew Gonzalez Noda
When the river reaches a critical level Belen ensures children, the elderly and pregnant women in her community are evacuated first. Evacuation Centres are usually covered basketball courts on higher ground.
Photo credit- Christian Aid/ Matthew Gonzalez Noda
As a valuable source of income pigs are also evacuated first. Owners tie them up on higher ground, or outside evacuation centres, to keep them safe. Other community members who are not immediately evacuated protect their homes as long as they can, or join search and rescue teams.
Photo credit- Christian Aid/ Matthew Gonzalez Noda
Dr Carlos Primo C David, from the National Institute of Geological Sciences, works with communities like Banaba, helping them to understand their geological environment, the hazards they face and their local chaotic weather systems, as well as assisting them to improve their evacuation plans. His work is supported by Christian Aid and UKAID.
The complete interactive documentary can be found at: https://www.storyplanet.com/stories/2161. This documentary follows Belen, who has been trained by Christian Aid partner the Centre for Disaster Preparedness to monitor the river and alert her community, as she helps coordinate the evacuation while her shantytown home disappears beneath the floodwaters.
Big River Rising explains how scientists are working with Christian Aid and local organisations to train poor communities to understand their geological environment, the hazards they face and their local chaotic weather systems. This training enables them to develop life-saving early warning systems and community evacuation plans.
