The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has provided the coastal town of Dingalan in Aurora Province with a new seawall structure to protect the local fishing community against storm surges.

DPWH Secretary Manuel M. Bonoan, citing a report from DPWH Regional Office 3 Director Roseller A. Tolentino, said that completed in Barangay Paltic, Dingalan, Aurora is a 355-lineal meter seawall through a P49-million shore protection project undertaken by the DPWH Aurora District Engineering Office (DEO).

The project also features roadway ramps, reinforced concrete pipe culverts for cross drainage, grouted riprap opposite the seawall, and a gravel roadway over the embankment with a width of five (5) meters.

According to Secretary Bonoan, delivering the structure is a necessity to ensure the protection of the local fishing community from storm surges and rising waters during heavy rains and bad weather as it directly faces Dingalan Bay.

In 2020, the onslaught of Typhoon Ulysses brought a storm surge of more than seven (7) meters in height that caused hundreds of boats to crash into homes in Barangay Paltic.

“The new seawall also serves as a place where local fishermen can secure their boats during extreme weather condition by mooring them next to the structure,” added Secretary Bonoan. (DPWH)