Cebu Provincial Administrator and former 5th District Representative Ace Durano admitted that the local government did not anticipate the severe impact of Typhoon Tino, which battered parts of the province with heavy rains and widespread flooding.
In a television interview, Durano said that while the provincial government had prepared for the storm, the extent of flooding took them by surprise.
“Yung Cebu kahapon pa lang si Gov. Pam (Pam Baricuatro) nag-order already ng evacuation. So this was expected, yung malakas na typhoon. What was not expected was the flooding,” Durano said.
He explained that several major rivers overflowed due to the massive volume of rainfall combined with high tide, which prevented water from flowing out properly: “Nag-overflow talaga yung major rivers from Talisay City all the way to Danao City. This was the effect na hindi talaga na-forecast,” he added.
Durano also questioned the effectiveness of existing flood control systems: “As far as the flood control projects (are) concerned, we can see na walang flooding na nakontrol dito. So whatever the projects they have here, it didn’t work at all,” he said.
As of now, Durano reported that many homes in the province remain submerged in floodwaters.