NINE YEARS ago today, Super Typhoon “Yolanda” battered the Visayas and other nearby regions. Have we learned our lessons from such disaster?
The well-known Filipino resilience should be manifested even before a natural hazard occurs. The world recognizes the resilience of the Filipino spirit. Even after experiencing the worst disaster, we find reason to smile and laugh, we help others even if we are victims too, and we immediately go about our business.
Resilience has been a remarkable strength of our citizens, but at the end of the day, the greater challenge after a typhoon or earthquake is always: how do we rebuild our communities?
Nine years after “Yolanda” devastated numerous communities in the Visayas and nearby regions, have we learned our lessons well?
Well, last week’s Tropical Storm “Paeng” has shown we have a long way to go. This is the sad reality.
Let us bring our resilience to a higher level — where we need not weep for a lost loved one after a natural hazard and where there is less or no more damaged infrastructure and properties because we have already managed to make our communities safe.
We are glad that our government has embraced the concept of “building back better”. In building back better, we must rebuild communities with the confidence that we are not rebuilding the risks again; we need to ensure that reconstruction of homes and infrastructure will be on safer ground following geohazard maps and sound construction standards; we need to re-start and create livelihoods; and restore normalcy to people’s lives with a stronger sense of hope and confidence for the future.
We do not hope for more natural hazards to come, but that is already part of our lives. We only hope that when the next typhoon or earthquake strikes, the world will laud us for our strength, for the greater resilience of our communities — zero casualty, minimal property damage, quick response and recovery.
