Somerset 3 and 5, Lancaster New City Cavite. Is it flood free?

Everyone who has invested on their dream house at ProFriend's flagship project, Lancaster New City Cavite, is as equally happy to see that their houses are now being constructed. Soon they would be able to get a grasp of their house to where they have shed their years of hard work, sacrifices and tears only to be able to have a decent home. The satellite image above is so far the latest we have to date. This satellite image was given by one of our neighbors in Lancaster Residences who incidentally is working with recent satellite images in response to the rescue efforts in the Visayas due to Typhoon Yolanda. The image above was taken by a satellite last November 9, 2013. You would be able to see that development of Somerset 3 and 5 has already started and is almost complete. But what could a satellite image tells us? Is your dream house indeed flood-free as proclaimed by its developer and sales agents? What does the yellow mark on the houses tells?


To explain elaborately, we have to show a satellite image of the exact area before Somerset 3 and 5 is developed. Let us fly back in time at around April 2010.

Can you see the difference? The houses in yellow are standing right above an area where it was a natural waterway before.

What does this mean? It means that the area was once a waterway that was then land-filled to accommodate construction of houses for more profit. It would only mean that the soil (being a rice farm before) is soft. While the area where those houses in yellow are prone to liquefaction. And what is liquefaction?

According to Wikipedia, "soil liquefaction describes a phenomenon whereby a saturated or partially saturated soil substantially loses strength and stiffness in response to an applied stress, usually earthquake shaking or other sudden change in stress condition, causing it to behave like a liquid."

The houses in Lancaster Estates do not have beams and columns. Any lateral movement can easily damage the houses extensively. Add to it the higher probability of liquefaction as they were constructed above a waterway.


You can also see from the satellite image that the waterway was diverted. to a newer and narrower location. Add to it that the edge of the artificial canal they created is only a few meters away from the back of the houses which does not correspond to the clearance specified by the National Building Code and may be eroded overtime including the units beside it.

And what does Nababaha.com tells about the flood probability of the area?

SS3 is a moderate flood-hazard (orange) while the northern blocks of SS5 is high flood-hazard (red).

Is SS3 and SS5 a flood-free community? I don't think so. It may even be liquefaction-prone.

Somerset phases 3 and 5 are part of the Lancaster New City Cavite / Lancaster Estates project of Property Company of Friends, Inc. located at Barangay Navarro, General Trias, Cavite.

For more info, the map of Lancaster New City Cavite is accessible here.

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