Destructive storms
THE Philippines needs to take drastic measures to address its vulnerability to destructive weather events, like typhoons and storms.
As noted by various sectors of society, including the country’s farmers and fishermen, this is a sad reality that Filipinos have to grapple with.
In fact, every year, natural disasters claim the lives of many people and destroy billions of pesos worth of property and agricultural crops.
Recently, the country suffered P1.36 billion in losses in the agriculture and infrastructure sectors from Tropical Storm “Enteng.”
“Enteng” entered the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR) on September 1 and left the country on September 4.
With its heavy rains, the storm ravaged heavily-populated Metropolitan Manila, Calabarzon, Nothern Luzon and the Bicol Region.
Likewise, hit hard by the severe tropical storm were Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Eastern Visayas and Western Visayas.
Initial reports said damage to the agriculture sector reached P658.9 million, while infrastructure losses amounted to P698.9 million.
With the worsening of climate change, we cannot overemphasize the importance of fine-tuning our disaster preparedness programs.
In the view of many, there is a need to link disaster risk reduction and preparedness to development planning.
