Abstract
The Sendong experience in 2011 was not the first major destructive flood in the recorded history of Iligan. Historical sources reveal that Iligan was hard hit by typhoons in colonial times causing rivers to overflow to its adjacent plains, washing out strategic posts such as the Spanish forts, built at the river-mouths of Bayug and Iligan. These typhoons were called huracan and in the uplands, mangas were also mentioned, waterspouts which were dreaded because of its rage and destruction. A great flood was also experienced in 1916, significant enough to be etched in written narratives but seems to be forgotten in the contemporary memory of the people. This paper therefore is a modest attempt to revisit the available written sources which speak about the flood experiences of the riverine presidios of Iligan set during its colonial past. These selected flood disasters had already transpired and its ruins buried in antiquity, however, not given much attention in historical scholarship thus the initial recapitulation of these unfortunate yet historically-significant events through historiography. This study aims to underscore the effect that environment, natural disasters like typhoons and floods cause to the courses of events in history as in the case of Iligan City.
Author Information
Marjorie Joy S. Almario, Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology, Philippines
Jamelyn B. Palattao, Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology, Philippines
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