How many times has the Philippines been declared as highly- susceptible to both geophysical and climate-related disasters?
Do you recall Loleng, Rosing, Reming, Ondoy, Yolanda, Rolly, Odette, and more recently, Kristine? The list goes on, since it is predicted that more typhoons are coming our way.
For some reason, however, Filipinos seem undanted. Afterall, Filipinos are known for their resilience, endurance to physical hardships, almost always even rising up from disasters with jokes about their experience; we are a people who laugh at our own misery, until we realize that too many people have already died!
The geophysical topography of the Philippines makes it highly-exposed to natural hazards, dependent on climate-sensitive natural resources, with long coastlines where most of its major cities, and a majority of the population reside.
Some estimates suggest that 60 percent of the Philippines’ land area and its population are exposed to numerous hazards, including floods, cyclones, droughts, earthquakes, tsunamis, and landslides.
With the exception of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, the multiple natural hazards facing the Philippines are projected to intensify with the onslaught of climate change, including sea-level rise, increased frequency of extreme weather events, rising temperatures, and extreme rainfall.
Without adequate proactive measures, climate change and natural disasters could worsen poverty and inequality among our people, in terms of access to resources and opportunities.
Government has to rationalize public spending, and undertake revenue- mobilization reforms to create more space for prioritizing resources towards building resilient infrastructure, and environmentally-responsive mitigating measures.
A recent study disclosed that Filipinos report relatively low levels of knowledge of climate change, and cited increased temperatures, shifts in seasons, and heavier rains only as the most likely consequences.
Levels of disaster preparedness differed widely, although most people perceived that natural hazards are a risk to them; only a few did measures to prepare for disasters, taking greater action such as dwelling improvements.
Policies and programs should be undertaken to benefit from a more unified intervention framework that links climate change adaptation and disaster preparedness.
The understanding of climate change impacts, and the associated climate extreme events at regional and local scales is of critical importance for planning and developing feasible adaptation strategies.
In the midst of Kristine dumping two months worth of rains in one day, swollen rivers, ruined farms, sunken houses, landslides blocking highways, burying some human being and houses were a common sight on live TV.
When will Filipinos ever get tired of experiencing this cycle of typhoons and floods, and needing to be rescued? Do we blame the government for its lack of urgency and preventive actions prior to these disasters? When will the government stop issuing permits to chop down our forests, or have our mountains and riversides mined for the sake of profit?
From shifting weather patterns that threaten food production, to rising sea levels that increase the risk of catastrophic flooding, the impacts of climate change are global in scop,e and unprecedented.
Without drastic action today, adapting to these impacts in the future will be more difficult and costly.
If there are no actual policies and laws that protect the environment, the natural disaster in the future (like next year) can be worse than anyone can imagine!
So be awake and beware!
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Author’s email: [email protected]
