The onset of the monsoon rains that will be surely aggravated by the projected weak La Niña by next month should serve as a wake-up call for everyone to brace for more intense rainfall that will greatly pose a serious threat to life and limb. The effects of climate change in significantly impacting on the weather patterns and the magnitude of rain that prevail upon nations of the world is now taking its toll on millions of people around the globe. Developed and developing countries are not spared from the impact of climate change and the unpredictable weather patterns to prevail upon our country year in and year out.
In the Philippines, July had been designated by the national government as the National disaster Risk Reduction (NDRR) month where aggressive programs, projects and activities are being rolled out by both the national government and local governments in partnership with the private sector and communities to make people resilient and reduce the casualties of natural hazards that impact on life and limb anywhere and in all corners of the world.
The recent effect of Super typhoon Carina and the enhanced southwest monsoon to most parts of the country has actually caught the people by surprise with the enormous floodings in most parts of the National Capital Region (NCR), Central Luzon and Region IV-A and other regions in Northern Luzon. People were caught flat-footed on the huge volume of water that came from upland communities that heavily impacted life and limb in the urban centers and brought back the bizarre memories of Typhoons Pepeng, Ondoy and Ulysses. The initial death toll of 21 and the millions worth of properties that were destroyed as well as the hundreds of thousands of affected individuals cast doubts on our readiness to deal with graver magnitude of natural hazards that may strike anytime.
Even the President was surprised on the enormous effects of the floodings in Metro Manila and other neighboring regions that kept us guessing whether or not the thousands of flood control projects that were implemented by the government to mitigate the effects of floodings in our places were rally effective or just a waste of taxpayer’s money. Numerous upland and lowland localities have just experience4d the initial wave of monsoon rains that was enhanced by the recent weather disturbance that entered the Philippine area of responsibility. It is just the start of the monsoon season and we will surely experience abnormal rains up to the end of the year or even early next year as predicted by the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA).
We believe that both the national and local governments have to go back to the drawing board and review their respective disaster risk reduction and management plants to ascertain whether or not their strategies are workable with the current trends in our weather system. We have to make the necessary adjustments to be able to move forward and address whatever pitfalls that we were able to encounter with the recent worth of the third weather disturbance that struck the country.
The protection of life and limb is a primordial mandate of the State that is why aggressive initiatives must already be put in place before the next wave of weather disturbance will prevail upon our region and the nation as a whole. We can see that more intense rains will be prevailing upon our places which will be aggravated by the projected La Nina phenomenon and its effect to life and limb will surely be affected. Even public services will suffer undue interruption that warrants the putting in place of updated interventions that will contribute in reducing the impact of the natural hazards to the greater majority of the populace.
We really have to stick to the targeted zero casualty but it seems that the same is achievable in an ideal situation and that there is a big difference when the real situation strikes. Individually and collective, we must rise up to the occasion and make sure that we will not be the burden of the government. Everyone has a role to play in disaster risk reduction by doing the simplest things inside and outside or residences.
Plans are in place but if people do not cooperate and adhere to the prescribed safety measures then the problem of casualties will surely transpire. We have already experienced the onslaught of natural hazards over the past several years but the conditions that have been presented by said hazards are really compelling which warrants more concrete interventions instead of stop gap measures.
Community engagement is more important rather than publicity so that people on the ground will fully understand the necessary steps that should be undertaken. Let us leave the said matters to our experts and not people who simply parrot the words of people who are more knowledgeable to the situation rather than those who simply grandstand for the sake of gaining publicity at the expense of the safety of the residents.
