GMSS Humanities: Philippines Hammered by Typhoon Washi

Philippines President Benigno Aquino declared on December 20, 2011 that the state is confronted with a national calamity as flash floods and landslides triggered by a typhoon took close to 1,000 lives and left tens of thousands homeless. Typhoon Washi (local name: Sendong) lashed through Southern Philippines on the evening of December 17, with accompanying downpours and strong winds that brought massive flooding and landslides in the Northern Mindanao area. The winds reached up to 80 km/hr and gusts of up to 90 km/hr, and the storm made its landfall in the Northern Mindanao area.

As of December 20, the official death toll stands at 957, with another 49 people reported as missing. Most of the dead were asleep amidst raging floodwaters tearing through their homes due to swollen rivers. Water cascaded from mountain slopes after 12 hours of pounding rain in the southern Mindanao area. Weather experts highlighted that Typhoon Washi dumped more than a month of average rainfall within 12 hours over Mindanao. Furthermore, the flash floods coincided with high tides.
Most of the deaths stemmed from a coastal village in Illigan. Houses were swept seawards by floodwaters while people were asleep when the typhoon struck. The worst-hit areas were the cities of Illigan and Cagayan de Oro. About 60 people were reported to have been plucked from the ocean off El Savador City, about 10 km north-west of Cagayan de Oro.
The rescue operations was sustained by approximately 20,000 soldiers but efforts were hampered by inundated roads and downed power lines. To aggravate matters, streets were overwhelmed with mud and piles of debris. Regions hit by Typhoon Washi were unaccustomed to typhoons as the area is usually spared from the worst damage. The Philippines is subject to around 20 typhoons annually.
The disaster agency revealed that more than 338,000 people in 13 provinces were affected by the typhoon. More than 10,000 houses were ripped by the typhoon and flash floods. Many schools, roads and bridges were battered. More than US$340,000 worth of crops (mostly rice and corn) were damaged but the Agriculture Department responded that losses were minimal as the crops just entered the initial planting phase. The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council estimated that there are around 35,000 people seeking shelters in evacuation centres, as of the evening of December 18.
President Aquino allowed the government to access funds from international financial institutions, including US$3 million from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and around $500 million of low-interest loans obtained from the World Bank (WB). The declaration of a national calamity by the President enabled the government to obtain larger pools of funds for relief and rehabilitation.
Cagayan de Oro and Illigan are now battling to prevent disease outbreaks in crowded, cramped evacuation centres. Digging of graves to bury decomposing bodies have been undertaken. Many of the dead bodies in parlous were left unclaimed, suggesting that the entire families had perished in the disaster. Given that mortuaries were unable to cope with the overwhelming numbers of dead bodies, the authorities have initiated the digging of mass graves to bury the victims of the calamity. The occurrence of Typhoon Washi had exposed that it is imperative that more efforts are required to ensure early warning systems are inherent in the age where climate change is intensifying the impacts of typhoons.

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Saturday, December 24, 2011

Philippines Hammered by Typhoon Washi