Members of the Group:

1. John Yuen Russel D. Queaño

2. Gracie Anne M. Garcia
3. Fhaye Nicole A. Geñoso
4. Arabella Q. Lagaya
5. Jovelyn D. Peñaflorida

“Flood Risk Management: A Phenomenological Approach on the Daily Life

Encounters of High School Students Residing Near the River of a Local Barangay
in Lucena City”

Statement of the Problem

The struggles that the students facing nowadays, especially in the current
situation whereas pandemic is still happening, is worst because of the threat of natural
phenomenon, thus, the researchers lead the research study entitled, “Flood Risk
Management: A Phenomenological Approach on the Daily Life Encounters of High
School Students Residing near the River of a Local Barangay in Lucena City”. In broad
terms, the study generally aims to develop a sustainable flood risk management
towards the effects of heavy rainfall and flooding on the daily life of High School
students residing near the river of local barangays in Lucena City.

Specifically, it sought to ask:

1. What are the challenges encountered by High School Students residing near
the river of a local barangay in Lucena City?
2. How does the heavy rainfall and flooding affect the learning capabilities of
High School Students residing near the river of a local barangay in Lucena
City?
3. What are the practices adopted by the High School students to address the
challenges faced in residing near the river?
4. What are the possible solutions to develop a sustainable flood risk
management for the riverside community?
Review of Related Literature
Floods, which is in recent years have taken the world by surprise, come into the
discussion too. While that is the case, its impact on education systems is least
discussed, if ever, yet literature acknowledges floods as one of the most devastating
disasters ever recorded in human history.
A study of Nott (2006) shows that a flood event is not considered to be a natural
hazard if it is at a normal level, unless there is a threat to human life or property. Low-
lying areas of floodplains, low-lying beaches and tributaries, shallow basins prone to
flash flooding, are the most vulnerable flood landscapes. Rivers have transport routes, a
water supply, recreational services, fertile fields and are an ideal location for settlements
for human respondents. Because of the high human population densities that occupy
these lands, floods then become a serious environmental threat.
"The direct impacts of a flood are directly connected to the size of the region
impacted and the water level of the floods," Nott (2006) indicated. The extent of a flood
has a direct relationship 10 with the recovery times of crops, pastures and the social
and economic dislocation impact to populations of a country. The most disruptive and
wide-reaching of all-natural disasters are floods. They are accountable for up to 50,000
casualties and adversely affect an average of 75 million people worldwide per year. In
less developed nations, the prevalence of diseases is extremely prevalent. Malaria and
typhoid outbreaks in tropical countries after flooding are also common.
Nott (2006) presented evidence that it has been estimated that 300 million
people in India and Bangladesh live in areas plagued by floods. Physical damage to
property is one of the major causes for tangible loss in floods. This covers the loss of
life, damage to goods and belongings, the lack of sales or resources in the wake of the
flooding, and the cost of washing. Any flood effects are subjective and it is impossible to
put a monetary value on them. Intangible losses also include increased levels of
physical, emotional and psychological health problems suffered by flood affected people
(Nott, 2006).
As the study showed by Gibbs et al. (2019), the evidence related to trauma
exposure in early childhood has shown a range of developmental impacts that may be
relevant to academic performance. The information provided suggests that early
interruptions in the growth of these intellectual capacities will adversely affect academic
achievement at major, secondary and university levels (Di Pietro, 2015). Other studies
by Ausbrooks and Martinez (2012) have supported it, indicating that school
organizational areas can mitigate disaster-related impacts on academic performance
over time. The findings of the analysis demonstrate the potential impact of disaster
exposure on academic performance. The distinct effect on the performance of the
subject was consistent with some other study of students’ academic performance
following a discotheque party fire in Sweden in which 63 young persons were
slaughtered and 213 physically harmed (Broberg, Dyregrov, & Lilled, 2005). The
research presented new evidence regarding the delayed effect of children living in post-
disaster societies on their academic achievements. As Gibbs et al. (2019)
characterized, further, without early intervention, these adverse developmental
trajectories have the potential to impact educational and functional outcomes many
years down the track. It is encouraging that the larger research base suggests that there
are benefits by constructive multilevel school interventions to reduce detrimental effects
on child academic achievements.
A study by Gabriel and Araquil (2015) highlighted that the disaster risk
management often focuses on hazard prediction and rehabilitation efforts at the
community level whereas there is international consensus that for an effective disaster
risk reduction policy, conclusive proof information on disaster preparedness and risk
management at household level is considered crucial. They administered some
interviews and survey questionnaires to 50 households in Bagong Silangan, Quezon
City situated along Marikina River. Around 15 low to high flood risks per year are
experienced by households. The results of the interviews and survey conducted show
that households' perception of normal to disastrous flooding follows elements of both
hazard and vulnerability characteristics. Results suggest that one day is the crucial
period of floods that households normally encounter in terms of flood duration. It also
shows two categories of the households’ assessment of flood risk – experienced flood
hazard (indicated by the blue water overlap), and catastrophic scenario. Experienced
flood hazard, which some respondents also termed as “normal flood” is based on their
yearly flood experiences (Gebriel & Araquil, 2015).
 According to the previous study of Robas (2014), socio-economic conditions are
highly vulnerable to disasters. The poor, the disabled, people with disabilities, the
elderlies, women and children are the most vulnerable individuals. These sectors would
have the least capacity to survive from the consequences of natural phenomena, even
though many people may be affected. This circumstance is compounded by accelerated
urbanization, environmental destruction and the rising likelihood of environmental
hazards, all as a result of massive human and climate change impacts. The risks
induced by these hazards have big effects on the country’s economic development
targets and programming as well as in the overall welfare of the people as well as their
private ownerships, particularly among the poor and most vulnerable communities.
Robas (2014) explained that Pasig City is one of the highly developed cities in
the Metropolitan Manila area due to rapid development and its accessible location is
suited for doing business like the Ortigas area. City development and political prosperity
attract more individuals to relocate to pursue jobs within the city. As a result, permanent
facilities such as buildings and homes have been heavily industrialized and polluted in
order to satisfy the city's demands for growth.
The study conducted by Abon et al. (2012) aims to integrate the proactive role of
communities and the use of flood modeling in the implementation of a flood early
warning system. Aside from an early warning system and civil protection measures, the
program should include flood forecasting through an accurate quantification of flood risk
(Pappenberger et al., 2007). Lee et al. (2008) emphasized that the rainfall-runoff
process in a watershed is primarily controlled by watershed geomorphic features and
rainfall characteristics. For classifying geomorphic characteristics, topographic maps are
commonly used.
The existence of operating models for an early warning system on its own is not
adequate to mitigate or eliminate flood damage effectively. The country's previous
experiences with floods have demonstrated that people sometimes ignore early warning
systems.
Garcia et al. (2016) characterized in their study the experiences of children
during a natural disaster. Based on a phenomenological investigation, rich descriptions
capture the uniqueness of the phenomena through the children’s learning and
development, the way they encountered these dilemmas. The essence of listening to
the voices of the younger group of victims of Typhoon Yolanda creates a better way of
understanding these children especially those who went through a disaster. It is also
important to document the experiences of these children living in the northern part of
Cebu, Philippines in order to provide an in-depth information of their experiences. It was
revealed that the experiences of children with a strong typhoon are initiated with the bits
of information that they heard about the type of typhoon they anticipated to arrive in
their place. This information contributed to the anxiety and fear that children felt prior to
the typhoon.
Due to this anxiety, children opted to be involved and obey their parents and
elders in the preparation prior to the typhoon, during the evacuation process as well as
after the typhoon (Garcia et al., 2016). Through disrupted perceptions, the aftermath of
the typhoon caused emotional distress to children, but this was only transient when they
attacked another encounter as though nothing had happened. They displayed a
durability that began with their attachment to the figure of a father. Their impressions
were remembered and remembered best by the kids, but they continued to live and
learnt to change their lifestyle.
Based on the results of the gathered literatures and studies, it is an evident that
the flood risk management is really important, espeially to the riverside community in
order to properly assess and solve the challenges faced by the people living there, and
lessen the distractions on the learning capabilities of students dealing with it.