TYPHOON “Quinta” is out of the country but there’s another one coming in. A tropical cyclone is forecast to enter the Philippine Area of Responsibility this week and could landfall in Bicol on Sunday morning, Nov. 1, as Typhoon “Rolly”.
We must be ready to lessen the necessity for disaster relief. Let us make good use of lessons learned from past disasters. Constantly exposed to storms, the Philippines should now be typhoon-resilient at the very least, right? We should now be experts in preparing for typhoons. After all, we have already experienced “Frank”, “Yolanda”, “Ondoy”, “Pepeng”, “Pablo” and “Sendong”. Or haven’t we realized yet what we ought to do?
When disaster strikes a part of the nation, it does not only affect that particular area, it also impacts the economy, which in turn affects everyone in the country. Losses due to “Yolanda” in 2013 were estimated at P571 billion, which represented close to five percent of the Philippines annual GDP. Meanwhile, for this century, global losses from disasters are in the range of $2.5 trillion.
Several factors contribute to the country’s vulnerability to natural hazards. These are: ecosystems decline, exposure of economic assets, poverty, rapid growth of cities, and climate change. But we could overcome these vulnerabilities through an environmental program audit, risk-sensitive planning and investment, strengthening social protection, advancing economic and business resilience, and promoting community resilience.
As a fundamental development strategy, building resilience would help our government sustain the country’s socio-economic gains, make a difference in poverty reduction, and eventually ensure the achievement of sustainable development goals.
Tragedies such as “Yolanda”, “Frank”, “Ondoy”, and “Sendong” create the context for learning and growing. It is these disasters that make us resilient. It is our shared memory of death, loss and survival that should drive us to build a resilient future.
