CAGAYAN de Oro has seven rivers—the Cagayan de Oro River is its main tributary—and several creeks such as Binono-an, Bitan-ag, Indulong, Kolambog, Sapong, and Umalag. With these natural waterways, residents of flood-prone areas aren’t supposed to be alarmed during heavy downpours, confident that Mother Earth’s natural landscape would take care of the sheer volume of water—except, perhaps, if God decides to give mankind another one of Noah’s Great Flood.

But flood-weary residents get anxious when rains batter our rooftops even for hours. We all should be. The scenes of January floods were too much to take—areas that once were thought to be flood-free were helplessly inundated, communities were ravaged beyond repair and massive displacement that has never before seen in this city occurred. We underestimated Mother Nature’s fury, and we paid dearly for it.

Sun.Star accepts donations for victims of Typhoon Ondoy

But have we learned our lessons? Or are we witnessing a collective amnesia as we recoil back to humdrum of our daily lives, recoiling back to comfort and assured in the fatal notion that lightning can only strike once.

Meanwhile our rivers and creeks are still being threatened by the rapidly burgeoning population. They are still unable to perform their natural functions because: 1. Waterways are being reclaimed by illegal settlers or landowners; 2. Illegal mining and quarrying remain unabated; 3. Irregular settlers keep on mushrooming on or near natural spillways absent any long-term planning from the local government.

Not only that. As this editorial is being written, a creek is being erased from the map by landowners and commercial land developers alike because of thoughtless planning—with the end goal of turning in profits and without consideration for environmental impact. Reclamation of creeks—including dried up ones—for construction purposes is prevalent, though we take little or no time at all to notice it and ponder on its implications.

Creeks are supposed to be protected from human encroachment. Presidential Decree 1076, otherwise known as the Water Code of the Philippines, prohibits structures to be constructed three meters from a creek.

After everything is said, let’s pose and think about this little morsel of truth: Water seeks its natural path. Where would it flow when its path is blocked? Naturally, it would overflow to residential areas, the streets—anywhere—because it can’t drain into rivers and seas.