EDITORIAL - From one extreme to the other

Several days ago many of us were awakened by the welcome sound of rain falling from the sky. Aside from being a welcome relief from the insufferable heat brought about by El Niño, water from above was also needed in many of the parched areas of not just Cebu but also other parts of the country.

But that rain didn’t come alone, it appeared to have been the “advanced scout” for the first tropical storm the country would experience this year; typhoon Aghon.

As of this writing yesterday, different local government units were already gearing up for Aghon after four people in Bicol were injured and over 2,700 affected. Signal no. 2 is also up in Aurora and other parts of CALABARZON.  

It may be time to shift mentality from dealing with one extreme to the other.

With the arrival of the first tropical storm we can expect that other such disturbances will not be so far behind. Add to that the coming of June which is usually the start of the wet season here. Add to that the expected La Niña, the total opposite of El Niño, and just like that, from facing a lack of water over the past few months we could be dealing with too much water in the blink of an eye.

This country is no stranger to tropical storms, in fact we have even seen some of the worst history has had to offer. Names like Yolanda, Ruping, Ondoy, among others have become synonymous with a bad memory. However, it seems that for many of us, most especially some LGU’s, the lessons we are supposed to learn from dealing with such strong storms don’t stick to memory.

After disaster has struck some LGU’s struggle because they didn’t prepare, or didn’t prepare the right items, or don’t know what to do, or don’t know what is needed most and where it is needed. It’s like going back to tabula rasa, back to square one after each disaster.

As of this writing Aghon hasn’t yet exited the Philippine Area of Responsibility, but it wasn’t a howler by any means. But this doesn’t necessarily mean that other coming storms won’t be.