The Philippines has been described as one of the world’s most naturally deadly countries where catastrophes can strike almost anywhere—in the mountains, in the valleys, and even in the urban jungles of Metro Manila.
We know that its geographical location makes the Philippines prone to tropical cyclones that generally produce heavy rains, causing landslides and flooding of large areas. We also know that typhoons usually result in heavy casualties to human life and destructions to crops and properties. According to World Risk Index 2020, the Philippines ranks ninth globally in terms of disaster risk, second highest among Asian countries.
Although the country faces an average of 20 cyclones every year, there’s a yawning fissure in the people’s knowledge about disaster preparedness. A study by the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative DisasterNet Philippines said only 36 percent of Filipinos feel they are completely prepared for disasters.
The study identified numerous vulnerable populations, such as those living below the national poverty level and informal settlers in coastal or flood-prone areas. While vulnerable populations can invest in disaster preparedness, it said this becomes a problem when people may not have enough resources to cover even basic needs. The study said income is the biggest hurdle, as 47.5 percent of Filipinos cited inadequate funds as a barrier preventing them from better preparing for disasters.
Severe Tropical Storm Paeng is the 16th storm to slam the country in 2022. It affected areas in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao and killed 67 people in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said Saturday it is validating reports that about 72 people have died due to Paeng’s devastation. According to its latest update, the NDRRMC said under validation are two deaths reported in Western Visayas, three in Soccsksargen, and 67 in BARMM.
The high number of BARMM casualties shocked President Marcos, who asked why the affected residents were not immediately evacuated. “It will be important to us to look back and see why this happened, that we could not prevent the 67 casualties. That seems very high for a flooding incident,” Marcos said. “So, maybe if we can start with that first just to give me a better idea of what happened, what caused the flooding, and why were they not evacuated? Why were there so many casualties?”
Paeng affected 277,383 families and 932,077 individuals in 14 regions, from Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon to Central Visayas, the Bicol Region, the Davao Region, and down to the Caraga and Bangsamoro region. The NDRRMC said 40,319 individuals were evacuated before Paeng’s onslaught.
President Marcos ordered officials to declare a state of calamity in provinces worst affected by Paeng, including BARMM and the Bicol Region. But he rejected the NDRRMC recommendation to place the entire country under a state of calamity, saying Paeng’s devastation was highly localized. “We’re talking about the east coast of Quezon, in Cavite, and then Maguindanao,” Marcos said, noting that other affected areas such as the Visayas, Regions 1 and 2 did not register an “extensive damage” from Paeng.
Paeng yet again exposed significant gaps in the country’s disaster management capacities across all regions. It would do well for the government to build a comprehensive national data bank, which can give a clear picture of the disaster preparedness of local government units. This will help establish disaster resilience among LGUs and improve decision-making during emergencies.
When shared nationally, this comprehensive database will give our disaster managers important information when it is much needed. A timely response during calamities is the best way for government to show that it does stand with the people in their time of greatest need. We need a good database that will arm our disaster managers with useful information. When a typhoon threatens a particular place, for example, they immediately know the flood prone areas and the landslide prone areas. Lives are saved if political leaders know what to do. We don’t want to hear the President again asking why the most vulnerable people were not evacuated.
Image credits: Ed Davad