As the country marked Tuesday the ninth anniversary of Super Typhoon Yolanda, we stand up once more to the challenges our disaster-prone country faces every year, particularly from ruthless weather disturbances.
As from the latest typhoons that hit the country – Typhoons Karding and Paeng – we continue to bring muscle to our determination to rise in hope and solidarity with the others in our community, high in the persuasion we will always bounce back.
Thousands of people have died from these typhoons, not to mention the hundreds of thousands of affected families, including children and the elderly, and billions of pesos in agricultural and infrastructure damage which make ugly figures on the nation’s bulletin boards.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. flew to Leyte for the anniversary, in what is seen as a confirmation of presidential fellow-feeling with survivors, who lost kin and property when Yolanda stormed ashore on Nov 8, 2013, trying to rebuild their lives and hack a future for themselves after the tragedy.
It is good to hear House Speaker Martin Romualdez, himself a Yolanda victim, that Filipinos, particularly those in Eastern Visayas, have recovered fully from Yolanda, which undeniably is a testament to the Filipinos’ resiliency in face of any calamity.
The House leader has said there will be other calamities in the future but raised the thought that we will overcome because of this resiliency and our compassion for fellow countrymen.
“As we commemorate the ninth anniversary of Yolanda that battered the country, most especially Eastern Visayas, we honor and offer prayers to those who perished during this unfortunate event, as we raise our glasses to the brave souls, our first responders, who put the lives of others above their own during the onslaught of the super typhoon,” Romualdez said.
As we stand beside our Yolanda memory bank, we sift through pages and review what lessons we may have learned to help mitigate the catastrophic impact of typhoons, given that the Philippines averages at least 20 such a year.
We raise the guesswork that we have seen the importance of energy and access to a better source as perhaps the most important lesson we have learned from Yolanda.
We must admit that knowledge and understanding of typhoons can save lives, minimize economic/infrastructure and agricultural losses – as such the relevant government agencies can prepare in advance and evacuate areas to be affected along the typhoons’ track.
Being prepared can reduce fear, anxiety, and losses that accompany disasters.
As the Philippines is particularly prone to typhoons – with thousands living in coastal communities or low-lying areas or congested urban areas as well as along river banks – and other disasters, emergency preparedness and disaster risk reduction initiatives will remain essential for the resilience of the Filipinos.
The Philippines should also step up efforts to devoting considerable resource to the construction and provision of disaster reduction facilities like river dikes and sea walls, as well as non-structural measures such as warning systems for typhoons, floods, tsunamis, volcanic eruption and lahar flows.
We believe that education for disaster preparedness can also provide life-saving and life-sustaining information and skills that protect in particular children and young people during and after emergencies..
