But the ones that make landfall are those that wreak havoc on the country. As of this writing, we have Typhoon Ruby (Hagupit) passing thru almost the same path that Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) went through November of last year.
Yolanda was one dreadful tragedy that precipitated anxiety, disappointment, fright and panic among us, Filipinos. In effect, we began to perceive each “super typhoon” as the “Philippine apocalypse”.
Who wouldn’t be?
The immeasurable damages recorded from the recent years were solid evidence. As posted in the Weather Channel, six separate tropical cyclones have claimed thousands of lives.
This is not to mention the countless livelihood and resources destroyed and the millions of Filipinos displaced. We have these predictable catastrophes that visit us annually and we have almost similar results – death & destruction.
Have we really learned from the lessons of the past?
***
Surely, the Philippines is only one among the numerous countries victimized by such tropical storms. Japan for instance belongs in the typhoon zone;Taiwan and China among others.
What can be noted however is the degree of casualties. Except for the Philippines, only minor damages were recorded in the aforementioned nations. Japan, during the brink of a deadly Typhoon “Phanphone”has only recorded one (1) death, one (1) missing, and ten (10) injured and 9,500 households without power.
It can be argued that the above are all developed countries, yet this cannot be an excuse. Every time calamities reach the Philippines, many factors are to be considered: the population count; the strength and capacity of households; the uneducated constituencies and their resiliency and so on and so forth. These are still perennial problems in the country!
No wonder why all of us continue to be afraid, scared and just brace ourselves for the worst.
***
According to Philippine Information Agency (PIA), a total of P15 billion will go to the calamity fund of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) while P6.5 B will be allotted for quick response fund of nine government agencies.
These amounts although necessary are palliatives. And given the certainty of annual calamities, we need to invest funds for the long haul solutions.
***
But over the years too, we have had ideas brought forward not simply for immediate relief and mitigation efforts after the fact, or just disaster preparedness before the fact – but something more long term.
- Relocate communities from coastal areas to higher grounds or farther in-land;
- Build sturdier houses& structures that can withstand typhoon winds;
- Rethink the agricultural products planted in these typhoon-prone areas for substitutes; and
- For a really long-term one- these threats remainas climate change has significantly strengthened storms that pass our country each year. We need to work with the international communities to understand better its impact.
As Petra Nemcova states:
And I might add:
If we have the political will to look beyond the tip of our noses and plan for the future.
