THE Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has completed a seawall that will protect residents affected by super typhoon Yolanda in Barangay Pagnamitan, Guiuan, Eastern Samar.

The 252-meter structure will protect the residents from storm surges and flash floods, which brought great destruction and mass deaths in the country in 2013.

Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) struck the Visayas on November 8, 2013, killing at least 6,190 people and damaging or destroying over 1.14 million homes nationwide. Storm surges caused most of the deaths.

In a statement Monday, July 4, 2022, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) said the seawall cost P29.64 million and now "safeguards around 237 families, government buildings and nature reserves or protected areas."

“This project has allowed residents to sleep peacefully at night, especially in the occurrence of heavy rains, knowing that the seawall will serve as a barrier from big waves that can take away lives and destroy properties such as houses, buildings, and other local facilities situated in the barangay,” said DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan.

Guiuan is vulnerable to storm surges as it is bounded on the east by the Pacific Ocean, on the south by the Surigao Strait, and on the west by the Leyte Gulf.

The DPWH also announced that the bridge component of the project, the Pagnamitan Bridge, will begin construction this year.

This would improve access along the Guiuan-Sulangan Peninsula Road and widen the waterways to reduce flooding in the area.