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MANILA, Philippines – It appeared that the national government did not adequately prepare and warn local governments and residents of Metro Manila about Typhoon Ulysses, as a group of activists observed that the region was more prepared when super typhoon Rolly struck.
Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) explained on Friday that his observations and the opinions of others suggest that the national government has not been too cautious with Ulysses compared to Rolly who hit the Bicol region and southern Luzon.
“Was the government really prepared? Were the people properly informed? There was a marked difference in alertness in relation to super typhoon Rolly and the powerful typhoon that was Ulises, ”Bayan’s secretary general, Renato Reyes, said in a statement.
“The morning of November 12 gave us flashbacks of Ondoy in Marikina, Pasig and Rizal. The nation was surprised to see so many people on its roofs that they needed to be rescued from the massive floods. The LGUs were overwhelmed by the number of people who had to be evacuated due to the floods, ”he added.
If the national government had emphasized warnings from the state meteorological office that massive flooding may occur in Metro Manila, especially to the east, Reyes believes that people who suffered the same fate during Typhoon Ondoy in 2009 would surely evacuate.
“We believe that the Ondoy and Habagat survivors would have no problem evacuating early if they had learned of the extent of the flooding. They have experienced the worst trauma of the floods and it won’t take much to convince them to leave their homes, ”Reyes said.
“Such warnings from the national government apparently did not come, or at least they did not come soon enough,” he said.
Reyes’ claims came after the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) claimed they were not surprised by the destructive nature of Typhoon Ulysses and the heavy rains that caused flooding.
Instead, the deputy administrator of the OCD and undersecretary of defense, Casiano Monilla, said that the problem of people left stranded in their homes due to flooding as high as two-story buildings is due to the refusal of some residents to lend attention to evacuation orders.
But in Vice President Leni Robredo’s visit to an evacuation center in Rodríguez, Rizal on Thursday, evacuated residents claimed that no one came to rescue them, contradicting OCD’s claim.
After making landfall three times, Ulysses crossed Central Luzon. However, its eye wall, where strong winds and torrential rains are generated, hit Metro Manila.
As a result of previous and successive storms, waters from the higher areas of the Rizal province seeped into the tributaries of Marikina and Pasig. Water levels in the Marikina River rose to more than 21.5 meters Thursday morning.
In addition to the flooding along roads and highways and the inaccessibility of some areas, this also meant that the rains from Ulises and other storms caused water levels higher than those brought by Ondoy.
While Reyes acknowledged that the Philippine Administration of Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services (Pagasa) had warned the country from the beginning about the possibility of massive floods due to Ulises, he said that these were not taken as a serious threat since they were not issued a maximum alert by Reyes. the National Management Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (NDRRMC).
But when Rolly arrived, who only skimmed Central Luzon and Metro Manila while heading to Camarines Sur, Albay and Catanduanes provinces, high alerts were issued.
“Unlike Rolly, where the public in Metro Manila was on high alert, and with the region placed under sign number 4, it appears that no such high alert occurred for Ulysses. The NDRRMC Twitter page for the period showed general warnings for storm surge and typhoons, but none indicating the magnitude of flooding that could be experienced in many areas, ”Reyes explained.
“Information from evacuation centers shows that people were surprised by the sudden rise in water in their communities. The response time required to rescue trapped residents and early morning calls for inflatable boats showed that rescue units and equipment may not have previously been stationed in the areas most affected by the floods. ”, He added.
Reyes believes that the NDRRMC should be investigated if the OCD government’s claims asking people to evacuate earlier were true, because they and many people believe that the previous warnings did not require an evacuation.
“This claim needs to be further investigated because it appears that early warnings and preventative evacuations were not carried out in many areas and the NDRRMC itself did not emphasize the need for such. It would be a mistake simply to blame the victims of the typhoon, ”he added.
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