Dear MEL Topic Readers,
A 300-year-old settlement resurfaces as severe drought dries up a dam
in the Philippines
Pantabangan Dam is a dam on the Pampanga River on the island of Luzon in
the Philippines. It provides water for irrigation and hydroelectric power
generation, and its reservoir, one of the largest in Southeast Asia, affords
flood control. When the construction of the dam began in 1971, residents of the
three-century-old town called Pantabangan were relocated. The abandoned town
sank beneath the reservoir when the dam was constructed. However, the old
sunken town has appeared six times when water levels dropped. Last month, the water
level went down by 50 meters from normal because of the continuing drought and
scorching heat, and the ruins emerged and became a tourist attraction. Yes, the
El Niño climate played a role in the extreme heat of over 40 degrees Celsius,
but global warming also makes the region hotter and drier longer than before. Unfortunately,
Pantabangan Dam’s reservoir isn’t the only one that resurfaces the sunken land
in the world.
Read the article and learn about how global warming and weather patterns
are affecting water supplies.
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