In August 2007, while I was driving to work in Legazpi Village, right within Makati’s central business district, I was caught in a flash flood. As I drove down the skyway off-ramp toward Amorsolo street, I had no inkling that, within less than half an hour, I would need to get out and have my car pushed to higher ground as a nearby creek overflowed. My thoughts raced back to this unfortunate experience when I realized that so many others had been caught in a similar situation all over Metro Manila last Saturday as Typhoon Ondoy’s heavy rains lashed the metropolis.
Last weekend’s traumatic events serve as grim reminders that, indeed, we live in a state of constant turbulence and chaos. Consider the question that has become the signature of modern chaos theory: Does the flap of a butterfly’s wings in Brazil set off a tornado in Texas?
According to a conference paper read at the meeting of the Edward Lorenz American Association for the Advancement of Science in Washington, D.C. in 1972: “The flapping wing represents a small change in the initial condition of the system, which causes a chain of events leading to large-scale phenomena. Had the butterfly not flapped its wings, the trajectory of the system might have been vastly different.”
In 1961, Dr. Edward Lorenz himself underlined the dilemma of essential unpredictability in meteorology when he pointed out that weather forecasts are good for only up to one week.
On the eve of last Saturday’s disastrous floods, I listened to Kim Atienza’s report on PAGASA’s weather forecast on ABS-CBN’s TV Patrol. Typhoon Ondoy was heading towards Baler, Aurora and was expected to make landfall in Aurora province on Saturday evening. Provinces in the eastern coast from Aurora to Catanduanes were placed on signal number one alert. The network focused on hyping up the last episode that would bring down the curtains on its long-running tele-novela, Tayong Dalawa.
Metro Manilans went to bed on Friday night without the slightest hint of the horrible disaster that would unfold the next day.
But if we take a few steps back and reflect on the massive degradation of our environment --- coupled by the well-known onset of global warming and climate change --- we will realize that, indeed, last week’s disaster was not really totally unexpected.
This year’s Filipino Magsaysay laureate, lawyer Antonio Oposa, secured a landmark Supreme Court ruling directing all government agencies to do a massive cleanup of heavily polluted Manila Bay. This case highlights a well-known fact: that our waterways such as rivers, creeks and esteros are clogged with garbage mindlessly dumped by citizens that become the victims of typhoons and floods. Nature exacts severe revenge on its transgressors.
Sen. Loren Legarda, a leading advocate on climate change preparedness, points out that rampant illegal logging, soil erosion and siltation of rivers and waterways have magnified the deleterious effects of global warming that is responsible for heavier rainfall.
Disaster preparedness is now on everybody’s minds. But were we really prepared for the massive flash floods? Was there a rainfall tracking system that would have enabled authorities to issue timely alerts and evacuate people from flood-prone places like Provident Village in Marikina, Talayan Village in Quezon City and lakeshore areas in Muntinlupa City?
Clearly, the deluge happened when people least expected it --- and were most unprepared.
What if it happened on a weekday? Many children would have been in school --- and their parents working in factories or offices. Schools, factories and offices would have provided better sanctuary, except if these, too, were located in low-lying areas. But the stark reality stares at us: our homes and communities are ill prepared to cope with massive floods.
What can be done to ensure a better state of disaster preparedness?
First, PAGASA’s typhoon tracking and rainfall monitoring capabilities must be enhanced. We need reliable weather forecasts. How much has our government invested in modern technology to upgrade PAGASA’s forecasting and tracking capability?
Secondly, there must be better preparedness at the community level. I grew up where my parents still live: in barangay Pio del Pilar between Pasong Tamo and south superhighway. This area is always flooded, even after thunderstorms. People already know when to bring their vehicles to higher ground. I am surprised that Provident Village residents did not seem to have an orderly evacuation plan, considering that this was definitely not the first time that they experienced a flood of this magnitude.
Muntinlupa Congressman Rozzano Rufino Biazon has called for the immediate enactment of a disaster management bill that includes localized disaster preparedness. Rep. Emylou Talino-Mendoza of Cotabato notes that we have an over-centralized disaster control system. The National Disaster Control and Coordinating Center (NDCC) is lodged within the Department of National Defense; she believes there should be disaster management capability at the barangay level.
Third, there must be faster deployment of rescue and relief teams. For example, was it not possible to deploy army trucks to bring people to higher ground? Many newspaper pictures showed people walking along Commonwealth Avenue, Ortigas Avenue, and even EDSA. They were fleeing their homes on account of rising floodwaters. The UP gymnasium, for instance, could have been designated immediately as an evacuation center.
Fourth, local government units must enforce better garbage disposal to prevent clogging of creeks and esteros.
Fifth, illegal fish pens and other structures that impede smooth flow of water should be removed immediately. Lakeside barangays of Muntinlupa suffered greatly as a result of the overflowing of Laguna de Bay that is chronically clogged by water lilies.
Sixth, there must be a comprehensive response to global warming and climate change that is anchored on environmental protection.
Typhoon Ondoy has once again placed the Philippines at the center of global attention. What is deplorable is that this calamity happened in the national capital region itself where all government and private resources are already concentrated. Pointing to the hurricane Katrina disaster and the difficulties faced by the American authorities in fully coping with that disaster does not exculpate our leaders from their responsibilities.
Business owners and families must also take heed of the need to insure their properties against floods. Heightened consciousness about disaster preparedness is everybody’s business.
Comments may be sent to sonnycoloma@gmail.com
