Re our own insular issue of how to keep the LKKS area and environs dry, we simply need to heed nature, and keep away from the paths it has chosen.
Growing up in the 50’s we had more respect for nature and its ways then. The old Lapasan road from its intersection with Corrales Avenue all the way to the Camp Alagar intersection had always been elevated in relation to the land on both sides. The trade school campus, now MUST, was traversed by Bitan-ag Creek, and a little bridge allowed the creek to pass through the highway. And the lazy creek meandered all the way to Camama-an I believe.
And we had expected or took for granted that even without rain when the tide was high, water would fill the areas around the trade school and into the other side of the road which was largely and definitely low-lying and marshy. Some coconut trees co-existed with other plant life like tangkong and kumpay. Owners pretty much left the areas alone treating them like estuaries on occasions.
And humans co-existed with the lay of the land that nature gave, adapted their living and nary a word of complaint was muttered from their lips.
And with the patience of Job, everybody waited for either the tide to recede or the rain to abate. And like clockwork, the waters squatting on land simply returned from whence they came. And everybody was contented. People harvested the tangkong and fed their horses with the kumpay which flourished.
But after many years, and after the topography and landscape have been inexorably changed by humans, now we encounter a multiple of problems. And public officials, businessmen, and young folks cannot understand why or worse, cannot even begin to resolve the issues. Of course, many stop-gap measures are cranked out from the government mill. To no avail.
Unless we want to do battle with formidable nature, I believe the solution is simple. Keep away from its path. Thus, decongest the areas affected. And that most likely include also the smallish poblacion area the city has, which now feels too big for its britches.
