Under A Million Miles Of Sky: Acquainting with Rosario

Talk about an upgrade! After almost 3 years in the Peace Corps, always living in a simple mud house, my new home is damn luxurious. I live in a fully furnished two-story duplex. My bedroom, complete with an air conditioner that I haven’t yet brought myself to use, is upstairs. Downstairs is a living room, bathroom, and kitchen, complete with (intermittent) running water and electricity. The municipality even has a weekly trash collection service.

Even better… the food. So far I’ve eaten mud crabs, a variety of fresh and salt-water fish, eel, shrimp, squid, pork, beef, chicken, and a wide assortment of fresh fruits and vegetables. Pictured above, the women of the local canteen outside our municipal office prepare a variety of lunch options each weekday.

The Municipal Hall, where the Mayor’s office and all municipal services are based, is still under construction after more than a decade. My office, the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, is also located here. Work has been intermittent with the availability of funds, but they hope to have it completed by the founding anniversary of Rosario in June.

In front of the hall are basketball and volleyball courts, both favorite sports of the Filipinos.

Roads are much better than I’ve been used to in Africa. Major thoroughfares are all paved, and in fairly good condition.

Ash Wednesday mass at the local Catholic Church. Religion is very important in this predominantly Catholic country. My grandmother should be pleased.

This church has been under construction for 7 years. The front of the church shown here is just about ready, but the back is just being started. As funds are received from the community and friends abroad, work proceeds.

Our team has begun work by visiting each barangay (district) within the Municipality of Rosario. Here, we are meeting with a team of BHWs (Barangay Health Workers) to obtain accurate population data in order to better prioritize hazard preparation in our report.

We ask the residents about the recurrence and depth of flooding as we have moved around the area.

In upland areas, significant erosion is a common sighting along the walkways and homesteads. Landslides are a threat in some areas due to poor planning and drainage.

People often situate their houses on precarious slopes especially vulnerable.

This lagoon of standing water accepts rainwater from a large upstream drainage area. Inadequate drainage facilities do not evacuate the water at a high rate, resulting in the flooding of adjacent homesteads during heavy rains.

Two barangays within Rosario, Buena Vista and Ligaya, are located on a small island off the mainland. These traditional boats known as ‘banka’, now equipped with motors, are used to ferry people across the channel.

In Ligaya, the majority of the population lives along the water amongst the mangroves. Their houses are built up upon coral and stones to help safeguard against rising waters.

This wrecked dock is one of the few evidences of typhoon damage currently visible in the area. For the most part, Rosario was spared from significant damage from Typhoon Haiyan. But previous typhoons have regularly caused significant flooding throughout the district.

The pristine coastline of Buena Vista facing the mainland.

Our team on the ‘banka’ leaving Ligaya. Bobi, my counterpart and Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Officer, and Iso, the municipal engineer, are my primary partners in assessing hazards. On this day, we were also joined by women from the health department.

Rosario is known for its mud crabs. Throughout the municipality, people have dammed up water in order to cultivate the delicacy.

Many homes are located along the rivers and creeks within the municipality. This exacerbates the flooding experienced during storm events by impeding the natural flow of water.

One of the most flood-prone areas of the municipality, this ‘purok’ (neighborhood) regularly floods during the rainy season (August through January), with up to 6’ of water experienced during typhoons.