BALANGIGA, PHILIPPINES, July 15, 2009—Liza Hilaria, a 31-year-old mother of four, remembered her apprehensions when news of Typhoon Feria hit the news. In the municipality of Balangiga in the province of Eastern Samar, storms and monsoon rains have, for the last two decades, brought floods, sickness, and a standstill in business activities every time floodwaters rise.
Things have started to improve when, using a community-driven development (CDD) approach, residents began constructing a network of canals to channel floodwaters towards the sea. Liza said drainage within her immediate vicinity has just been completed. “But will it actually work during heavy storms and typhoons?” she wondered.
Read more of the article at the World Bank’s website.
