More 'Ondoys' to come

Ondoy in Manila. An earthquake in Singapore. Tsunami in Samoa. Another earthquake in Bali. The big question is why? Are all of these events related with each other, and therefore a warning to mankind that an irrevocable sequence of events linked to the global warming crisis is unfolding?

The lives of the world’s 6.8 billion people, including 92 million Filipinos, are imperiled by the bizarre climate changes that have been experienced of late. And governments – both in developed and developing countries – are just learning how to cope.

For the Philippine government, Ondoy and more and bigger catastrophes should be taken seriously by immediately developing multi-tiered disaster preparedness plans as well as corresponding disaster management (or response) plans. Watching the harried looking faces of government officials last weekend gives you the impression that the entire government apparatus, national and local, was just “reacting” and managing “from the seat of their pants” as pleas for rescue and assistance swamped them.

Specific to flooding, given our long coastline (one of the longest in the world, at 36,000 km, and could very well have the longest if land mass size is considered) and the many rivers and water channels, our goal should be to be the world’s expert on flood preparedness and response.

Risk analysis

One part of the planning that usually takes time to complete is the risk analysis, i.e., identifying which communities or areas are most at risk by calamities, which may also come in various forms including typhoons, earthquakes, tsunamis, and landslides.

Ideally, a central government agency should be doing the risk analysis, but in view of the need to do it quickly, the best way could possibly be to send assigned persons from local government units for risk assessment and analysis training, so that they may be able to come up with one for their assigned geographical areas, however rough or crude. Validation by experts can follow later.

Specific to typhoons that bring massive rains, a hard look should be taken at areas near streams, creeks, rivers and other water tributaries, the with goal of reviewing current zoning policies especially for residential areas. (Businesses usually conduct their own location risk analysis, and take a very conservative view when deciding where to locate their manufacturing facilities and equipment, what with hundreds of millions of pesos at stake.)

Several houses in middle class villages in Marikina and Pasig situated beside seemingly harmless creeks were inundated by the raging waters that spilled over the waterways’ natural boundaries. It was not uncommon for whole sections of concrete fences to be torn down by the expanding and growing rampage of mud and debris.

Individual empowerment

In the last column, we talked about government initiating a comprehensive disaster mitigation plan that would involve not only local government units, but even institutions like the Red Cross, international rescue & relief agencies, local government agencies, non-government organizations, churches and schools.

By including disaster preparedness in the educational curriculum, we are ingraining in the minds of our people the right attitude and consciousness about survival during calamities and natural disasters, which would include earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, fires, and even terrorist attacks.

Such presence of mind unleashes people’s innate creativity. I was particularly impressed by several photos that showed ingenious ways of survival, like this mother putting her child together with a jug of water and some basic things in a big plastic wash basin, and guiding it float while negotiating chest-high flood waters.

This brings me to the need to train people on how to build portable rafts using materials that can easily be found at home. One man used two sealed empty plastic drums that served as floaters for several slabs of wood niftily tied together.

Creativity can also find its ways in other aspects of disaster management. Take for example the Barangay Soup Kitchen initiative of actor Ping Medina who transported one of his restaurant’s kitchens on an Elf truck, making its way to relief centers and cooking hot food on the spot for thousands of flood victims. Talk about instant mobile relief operations.

Reader empowerment

One of our readers, Cristina Groenestein of BF Homes, Parañaque City, sent an e-mail which I am featuring below. We encourage other readers to send in their suggestions on how we may be able to improve our disaster preparedness and response to strong typhoons and flooding. Here is what Cristina says:

“May I suggest further that the Philippine educational curriculum includes proper disposal of garbage in homes and communities. There are reminders of garbage segregation but not proper segregation receptacles are made available in each barangay or better still by the supermarkets, markets, barangay town halls, or civic centers. Likewise, enough ‘keep our city green’ signs can be seen but not enough garbage receptacles are visible to get rid of plastic wastes, etc.

“Our esteros are surely great source of disease-causing bacteria as [the esteros] are clogged up most of the time. How can you educate people living on the banks of these esteros to make their surrounding clean for their and everybody’s good?

“If the housing authorities cannot provide humane shelter for them, [there should be] at least provision of health and sanitation education for everyone’s sake.

“Do you not think that popular TV and radio shows should regularly remind people to dispose of their garbage properly [since] that is one of the greatest sources of blockages in the drainage system causing flooding, among other things?

“Hopefully, swift action can be taken for the clearing of the aftermath of Ondoy and may my prayers be heard by those who want to improve this country of ours – politicians and non-politicians alike.”

Again, in times of adversity, the Filipino’s resiliency never amazes me. What needs to be minded though is to train ourselves to think ahead, and to think long-term. Let’s muster that collective will and do it.

2009 Philippine Collegiate Championship update

The “mother leagues” in the provinces have completed their tournaments and the league champions are now preparing for the Regional championship phase of the 2009 Philippine Collegiate Championship games.

The schedules and venues of the Regional championship games are:

• North/Central Luzon Region – Oct. 8 to 10 – Divine World gym, Dagupan City;

• South Luzon-Bicol – Oct. 8 to 10 – Naga Civic Center gym, Naga City;

• Visayas (excluding Cebu) – October 13 to 15 – West Negros U gym, bacolod City;

• Mindanao – October 6 to 8 – Holy Cross / Gaisano gym, Davao City 

For updates on progress of teams as they continue the journey towards the 2009 Philippine Collegiate Championship games, visit the official website, www.CollegiateChampionsLeague.net or send email enquiries to [email protected].

Should you wish to share any insights, write me at Link Edge, 25th Floor, 139 Corporate Center, Valero Street, Salcedo Village, 1227 Makati City. Or e-mail me at [email protected]. For a compilation of previous articles, visit www.BizlinksPhilippines.net.