In the past week, and up to now, two typhoons have hit the Philippines, with a third strong one coming its way, possibly hitting the northern part of the country, the same places hit by the second typhoon. Here’s a summary of the two typhoons’ statistics so far:
Typhoon Ondoy: affected hundreds of thousands of residents, with over 300 people killed. Most affected areas include Metro Manila, Rizal province, Laguna province, and Central and northwest Luzon, with some of the floods being over 5 feet deep, affecting thousands of residences, businesses, power and communication lines, hectares of farmlands, and severing roads and major highways. Piles of garbage evident after the floods receded, especially in Metro Manila.
Typhoon Pepeng: affected thousands of residents, with more than 20 people killed. Most affected areas include Isabela, Cagayan, and Ilocos Norte provinces, with damages to agricultural lands, residences, businesses, power and communication lines, and severing major roads and highways. Expected not to move away from its current position now, battering the northern Luzon provinces mentioned above due to its proximity to the next typhoon and a High Pressure Area, with sustained maximum wind gusts of 135kph (75mph).
Typhoon Quedan: still in the Pacific Ocean as of now, it has entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility with sustained winds of approximately 205kph (128mph) and maximum gusts of 250kph (156mph). The storm was located 1,020 km east of Basco, Batanes province, and it was reported to moving west northwest at 26 kph.
I believe that it is nature playing furiously over the Philippines right now with massive typhoons hitting quite frequently nowadays, and to account the damages brought by the two typhoons so far, in my opinion, here are some of the things to blame for the damages that could have been lessened or even averted:
Poor infrastructure. The country is at a pace of infrastructure development with a lot of road and highway construction, but, due to rampant corruption and politicking on who gets the projects, a lot of things have been compromised, such as cement-to-asphalt-to-steel combination, or bamboo and poor mortar substituted for high-quality cement, that causes major destruction when natural disasters like the three typhoons happen. I think that through the proper allocation of funds to construct safer infrastructure while being built quickly is the best way to make our roads, bridges, and buildings safer, and let’s not compromise that bamboo stick for bricks: we should really consider safety and security over how much a politician can earn for his own gain.
Failure to Activate an Early Warning System. The Philippines is a vast, diverse nation with thousands of islands, many of which inhabited by millions of people, and by not having an Early Warning System (EWS) for typhoons, volcanic eruptions, landslides, and other possible disasters, people will not get out of the danger-prone areas in time, thus many people left in their homes are “isolated” from the outside world. It is a wise idea to implement an Early Warning System for the entire country, not just Metro Manila, to ensure that the people are prepared for such catastrophes, and there should be drills on how and what to do when a person hears the EWS being activated.
Political Misunderstandings. Yes, this is where the Philippines has a huge problem dealing with — political opponents just debating for hours on end whether or not who gets the job or money, not for what the people actually need. We should really stand up for change in the political climate by letting them know that people are needed to be heard first before themselves because in calamities, whether one’s rich or poor, living comfortably or living in shackles, everyone is affected. It can really take a long time to stand up for a responsible government, but it will really take the people’s — and government’s — will power to make that happen.
Land Overuse and Abuse. Another problem with the government and private investors is that they have been using already-unstable mountainsides and hillsides to develop gaudy, middle-class subdivisions that have good views, and it is not a good idea to develop those unsafe places because when the soil below the developed areas softens, it could potentially cause a major landslide, in which many times, people have died from such incidents from previous storms. Protect those vulnerable hillsides and mountainsides that were caused by over-deforestation by planting trees and shrubs instead in those areas so that the soil can be recovered, making them more stable. I think that proper planning should also be considered in developing cities, subdivisions, and towns — by checking out its location from water and slopes, we could see if the area could be a “water trap”, causing floods from the rising waters when a storm passes by, or a dangerous place to build a home (especially on the hills), causing massive landslides that can take months to be restored.
I think that it is becoming a crises of priorities for the Philippine Government, since it has been seeing numerous corruption allegations that has swamped the country into a political showdown between the current administration and its opponents. I believe that there shall not be fighting or arguing between the two parties right now; they should help reinvigorate the country and rebuild the homes, farmlands, and businesses destroyed by the storms’ wrath. I believe that the people should also cooperate in the redevelopment process by telling government politicians to stop whining about how much money they want to get from its taxpayers and start working on the country’s priorities.
For more information on the latest storm, please visit:
http://abs-cbnnews.com/nation/10/06/09/%E2%80%98pepeng%E2%80%99-makes-2nd-landfall-returns-ilocos-norte
http://abs-cbnnews.com/nation/10/06/09/wfp-sending-copters-dinghies-flood-hit-rp
http://abs-cbnnews.com/video/nation/youth/10/06/09/youth-link-arms-literally-help-flood-victims
Images:
Rosario Bridge (Pasig) after Typhoon Ondoy battered Manila (source: http://reynaelena.com/)
Some of the damaged homes after Typhoon Ondoy battered Manila (source: http://bakitwhy.com/)
During the wrath of Typhoon Pepeng, northern Luzon (source: http://eo.ucar.edu/kids/)
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For City College of San Francisco students and faculty: visit the South Pacific Natural Disaster Relief Drive, in which it has started yesterday, which is sponsored by the Poly Club and P.E.A.C.E. (Pilipinos for Education, Arts, Culture, and Empowerment). It is a community relief effort to assist those affected by the recent natural disasters in the South Pacific, the Philippines, and Indonesia. Donations are welcome, which include clothes, water, shoes, non-perishable items, and monetary donations. Check donations must be payable to the American Red Cross.
Donation locations include the CCSF Ram Plaza, CCSF Amphitheater, and the Students Supporting Students (S^3) office at the Student Union, and it will be held everyday throughout October from 9am to 5pm. Feel free to contact me for more information by leaving a comment on this page.
