It seems authorities have now pinpointed a possible cause of those massive road cracks in Ortigas.
According to a report by GMA News, the Pasig City local government has identified an old drainage system as one of the main causes of the damages along Topaz Road. A portion of the system was discovered to have burst, leaking water into the soil under the road.
“Ayon sa initial na nakita ng ating mga engineer ay malalim yung uka, at tila wala nang lupa,” said Pasig City Hall city engineer Alfredo Garin. “Kumbaga, tila na-scour na yung ilalim.”
“Ang hindi natin alam, kung gaano katagal na nabibigyan ng tubig yung lupa. Hindi natin alam kung gaano katagal na siya nagli-liquefy,” said Pasig City Hall incident ground commander and assistant city engineer Artaxerxes Geronimo.
The local government is requesting three to five days to repair the damages. Emergency water lines have also been put up this morning. In the meantime, there will be no need to evacuate nearby buildings, according to local authorities. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology have also confirmed that the road cracks have nothing to do with the fault line in the area. However, expect Topaz Road to remain closed off to motorists until repairs have been finished.
