GEOCON 2014: FILIPINO GEOLOGIST -- NEW FRONTIERS & GLOBAL CHALLENGES

The 27th Annual Geological Conference of the Geological Society of the Philippines
9-10 December 2014 | InterContinental Manila, Makati City

Cities at Risk - The Role of LGU-based Geologists in Urban Planning, Disaster Risk
Reduction Management and Climate Change Adaptation :
The Case of Bayawan City, Negros Oriental, Philippines

Hernulfo B. Ruelo1 and Erjien R. Tenefrancia2

1
GFI Consultants, Inc. (UP- National Institute of Geological Sciences)
2
Local Government Unit of Bayawan City

Extended Abstract
Natural hazards and disaster awareness sell themselves only after a disaster has occurred. On 06
October 2013, the city of Bayawan in Negros Oriental was inundated by riverine flash floods of up to 8
meters high, affecting at least 44 km2 in 9 coastal and floodplain barangays. This was its worst flood
disaster in recorded history, resulting in millions of pesos in property, crops and infrastructural damages,
6 deaths and 11,000 displaced. Power and communication lines were cut off and isolated from the rest
of the province, putting the city instantly in a state of calamity.

A post-disaster impact assessment and mapping was voluntarily conducted by the authors several days
after the flood event. The chronology, causes, nature and impacts of the flood and ensuing landslides
were initially ascertained. Heavy and prolonged precipitation was spawned by several days of rains due
to an ITCZ (Intertropical Convergence Zone), and not due to the direct effects of a typhoon’s rain bands.
The passage of two tropical cyclones (TY Quedan and TY Ramil) in the SW Pacific Ocean has activated the
ITCZ and enhanced the SW monsoon, thereby increasing the intensity of rainfall over the Sulu Sea area.

Flash flooding and overland sheet flow was directly caused by overtopping of the heavily-silted 6-km
long downstream portion of Bayawan River. Flooding took place over a 40-hour period, starting in the
early afternoon of Oct 5 through early morning of Oct 7, with peak flood discharge occurring at around
7am of Oct 6. Reconstructed flood hydrograph showed that this was an instantaneous inundation with
little lag time. Floodwater receded almost 2 days after peak flood stage. Some 855 mm of rain was
dumped over a 3-day period (Oct 4-6), whilst 514 mm fell in 24 hours of Oct 6. Bayawan over the last 50
years has averaged monthly rainfall of 368 mm for the month of October, and an annual average of
2531 mm.

The flood was exacerbated by backwater effect due to high tidal seawater flowing 5 km inwards along
Bayawan River. The worst-hit areas are situated in a large, high-sinuosity meandering zone of
abandoned river channels with current surface topography lying at 2 to 5 meters asl elevation, causing
shifting river dynamics, constant avulsion, and catastrophic flooding.

The Bayawan City LGU then engaged a geologist to assist in its DRRM and CCA programs, in particular to
disaster prevention, mitigation and preparedness. A preliminary city risk profile was made and listed a
dozen natural hazards that can potentially affect a large population base in all of its 28 barangays.

Detailed barangay-scale flood and landslide mapping and assessment was done through utilization of
On-the-Job Trainees (OJTs), comprising BS Geology students from Negros Oriental State University.
River sectioning, coastal transects, hydrological/sedimentological studies and fluvial geomorphology
mapping were also achieved.

Amidst increased recurrence and severity of natural hazards impacts, Bayawan City currently faces a
collage of challenges, which should be considered as major constraints in city development strategies
and possible land use conflicts, for the following reasons:

• It is a coastal city prone to coastal flooding (a consequence of apparent sea-level rise), storm
surge, coastal erosion, salt-water intrusion, and tsunami hits (having an active undersea
earthquake generator along the Negros Trench in the Sulu Sea)
• The urban area and adjacent agricultural lands are situated in a flat to very low-lying area at the
mouth of a mature, heavily silted, meandering river system with a large catchment area, which
is perennially much prone to riverine flooding
• Major active fault lines are nearby, and an active tectonic trench faces the city, which have
caused earthquakes in the recent past, and has the potential to generate large-magnitude
earthquakes in the future, as what has happened during the 1948 M8.3 earthquake north of it
• The predominance of sedimentary rock types implies that these are easily weathered or
decomposed, which are then very prone to both earthquake- and rain-induced landslides,
subsidence, sinkholes, and accelerated erosion that exacerbates riverine siltation
• The urban area sits on a thick layer of unconsolidated gravel and sand deposits, which makes it
very susceptible to liquefaction and ground-shaking when a major earthquake occurs nearby
• Extreme weather events have become more frequent and intense towards the south (in the
Visayas and Mindanao regions). Sea surface temperatures in Sulu Sea are increasing, causing
coral bleaching and decreased fish yield.
• Very large area of denuded, non-forested lands, which decreases infiltration and exacerbates
river siltation and thus increasing intensity and rates of flooding, besides loss of soil fertility and
loss of potable fresh ground water in the upland areas during prolonged dry periods
• Potential loss of marine, coastal and terrestrial ecosystems and biodiversity, i.e. mangroves and
swamps that mitigate effects of typhoons, tsunamis and storm surges
• Mitigation and other constraints – inadequate flood control and faulty drainage system;
reclamation and conversion of hydrosol-dominated coastal wetlands; structural integrity of
buildings and Climate Change-adaptive dwellings
• Relatively low-level of hazards awareness, and still inadequate early warning, preparedness and
disaster response mechanisms for tsunami hits and flash floods
 • Increasing risks through urbanization – growing population, upland-rural to urban-coastal
migration, land conversion, and increased investments in infrastructure in hazard-prone areas
• Poverty, lack of livelihood in upland areas, and landlessness remains the key factors that makes
most of the city’s population vulnerable to natural hazards
The current Bayawan City scenario demonstrates a high-risk locality where good local governance has
responded positively to these challenges, but much remains to be done. An LGU-based geologist
provides the opportunity not only to address issues in DRRM and CCA, but also to assist in local
engineering works, land-use planning, environmental and natural resource management programs.