Coping with Disaster

 

Again, the country was battered last weekend by a powerful typhoon that streaked across northern and central Luzon. The storm flooded many areas and displaced more than 60,000 people from their homes.

The death toll as of Monday stood at 16,  but was expected to rise as full accounts from badly hit villages were gathered. Damage to agricultural crops and public infrastructure has yet to be assessed.

We are glad that government response to the disaster has been swift. Military, government and volunteer rescue units equipped with rubber boats helped residents to safety in dozens of flooded villages.

The Philippines is hit with about 20 major storms a year, many of them deadly. This underscores the need for government, the private sector and civil society groups to intensify efforts at disaster risk management and disaster response.

Zero casualties in times of natural calamities may be difficult to achieve especially in the far-flung areas. But with the government at the national and local levels tapping the private sector and NGOs to help the people in affected areas, we can bring down the casualty rate, facilitate rescue, relief and rehabilitation efforts and allow people to return to normal life faster. 

Image by theguradian.com