'Natural disasters (floods, droughts, etc.), poverty and development'

Recent strong typhoons brought in heavy rains and massive flooding in Central Luzon. The flooding was due to heavy rainfall made worse by two successively close typhoons and by the release of excess water from the country’s active water reservoirs.

Dams are constructed to hold back water. But when water overflows are expected in times of excessive rains and accumulation, the release of dammed water worsens the flooding disasters.

There is little that we can do against acts of nature. We prepare for them. We install mitigating processes. But aside from what is humanly possible in minimizing their bad impact on us, we are essentially helpless against powerful acts of nature.

“TYPHOONS AS PROVIDERS OF BOTH NEEDED WATER AND SOMETIMES AS HARBINGERS OF DISASTERS.” When typhoon “Pedring” visited, the combined amount of water released from major dams located central Luzon – Ambuklao, Binga, San Roque, Upper Pampanga, Magat, Bustos, Angat, and Ipo – created a larger flooding in Central Luzon, especially in the provinces of Pangasinan, Pampanga, and Bulacan.

The flooding was further aggravated by the expected arrival of typhoon “Quiel” that took a path almost similar to that of “Pedring” in Northern Luzon. This made the authorities to release a greater amount of excess water in these dams. The result was flooding of much larger dimension.

The country gets visited regularly every year by an average of twenty storms and typhoons of different strengths. Their intensities are generally more devastating in the Pacific Ocean than in the Atlantic Ocean. The Philippines is the most exposed, being in the rim of landfalls where the disturbances are at their most intense power.

But as a rule, these periodic weather disturbances are welcome. They bring the good things we want and expect: an abundant supply of water distributed over the year. We harness this water to store for longer periods to assure us of the water supply for consumption, for industrial uses and for irrigation.

In the tropics where we are, water can only be stored through the environment’s ecosystem and through man-made interventions that we build. We are less lucky than those countries in the temperate regions. They can store large amounts of water in the form of ice and snow just resting atop mountains and other upper regions for months before it flows downstream as water. We cannot.

“THE IMPORTANCE OF WATER TO OUR DEVELOPMENT AND WELFARE.” Water is important to life, good health and nutrition, and to the country’s growth. Hence, investing in appropriate infrastructure to harness it is a significant component of assuring that the nation can support higher economic productivity and good health for the nation!

Over the decades since independence, our nation has invested in the construction of hydroelectric, irrigation and water supply dams wherever nature allows us to tap the resource. These are built upstream where rivers can be blocked to form lakes along mountain- and hill-sides. The dams enable us to hold back the water’s flow to the seas.

The result is that as our needs and population have grown, these dams make it possible to increase our water consumption. Moreover, we store water to provide for industrial usage. As for agriculture, the benefits are for food production. These dams have been used to produce electricity. The water companies were able to raise the supply of water for drinking and for use in industry and agriculture.

Sometimes, however, the dams can add to the gravity of the disasters downstream. The flooding disasters in Central Luzon partly came from the excess water released from the dams in order to manage the level of the dam. The recent floods in Central Luzon and in recent memory in MetroManila – remember Ondoy’s impact on Marikina in 2009? – are sufficiently fresh experience.

These floods remind us of the dangers posed by the excessive rainfall on lowland communities and the need to improve the rules by which the managers of dam plants coordinate with local governments. Early warning systems and coordinated community actions are required to mitigate the tragic effects of flooding.

“CAUSE OR EFFECT: DISASTERS, GOVERNANCE, POVERTY, AND ENVIRONMENT.” The reference to floods, dams, and destruction connect very well with issues of poverty and environmental balance. Let me quote two telling short passages that I took from the government’s recent Development Plan 2011-2016:

“The degraded state of the country’s environmental and natural resources are felt most intensely by the poor, especially rural communities given that they depend on these resources for their primary sources of living....” [p.304]

And:

“Although water is still abundant in certain areas, the country faces the threat of emerging water scarcity.” [p.305]

The floods create destruction of public facilities in the lowlands, the ruin of crops, and the upsetting of households. When the opposite climatic conditions hit the country, we experience cases of drought and food scarcity.

These disasters impact on everyone. But the poor get hit more severely. The rich and well-to-do can buy insurance to protect themselves or they have family reserves of wealth to rely on. The poor own only few assets. When disasters strike them, they lose almost all that they have, if not everything. Often these are people in midlife supporting families who before had limited means but now after the disaster end up with nothing.

Natural disasters impoverish the nation’s coffers. The reserves of effort, saving and even resources intended for further investments get undercut. The government is obliged to provide some mitigation of the sufferings of the poor. The state also has to fund the cost of repairs of destroyed and damaged public infrastructure and facilities.

“THE BEST DEFENSE AGAINST CATASTROPHES IS ECONOMIC STRENGTH.” The effective way to meet these disasters as a nation is to strengthen the economy. Seeing foreign aid come in during calamities is heartwarming because other countries care. But from a national perspective, it is degrading when that support occurs with frequency because it signals lack of capacity. As a generally rule, the nation needs to learn to deal with natural disasters for its own security and wellbeing.

It is imperative that the country strengthen its economic foundations. It has to raise domestic incomes, create productive employment for its citizens, and promote a highly resilient response based on economic strength to mitigate the effects of natural disasters when they visit the country. With greater economic strength, the state is more capable to extend support. The citizenry has a deeper network of support during disasters, too.

My email is: [email protected]. Visit this site for more information, feedback and commentary: http://econ.upd.edu.ph/gpsicat/