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Seven years after the strongest typhoon in recorded history hit the Philippines, the country was again visited by another monstrous storm. Supertyphon Rolly (international name Goni), the strongest storm in the world so far in 2020, unleashed its fury for the first time in the eastern part of the country. With winds of up to 220 kilometers per hour, Rolly slashed through the Bicol region and nearly obliterated areas that were poorly prepared for strong typhoons. (See, “Bicol, South Luzon gets the worst of ‘Rolly’ when ‘Siony’ enters PAR”, in the Business mirror, November 2, 2020).
The storm, which made landfall for the first time in Catanduanes, destroyed houses and left thousands of families homeless in the Bicol region. Many of the houses toppled by the typhoon were made of lightweight materials, but the monstrous storm did not spare the resistant ones. Thousands of houses made of sturdy materials were also damaged, forcing families to flock to evacuation centers at a time when Covid-19 cases across the country continue to rise.
The nightmare that is Rolly is once again reminding people in countries vulnerable to climate change, like the Philippines, that they can no longer afford to overlook the importance of building disaster-resistant homes. Investing in houses that can withstand winds of up to 250 km / h is now a necessity, particularly in areas that are directly in the path of typhoons. Shelters that will protect Filipinos from pandemics must also be able to withstand the wrath of nature, given the increasing frequency of strong typhoons the country has been experiencing in recent years.
The challenge can be daunting, given the staggering number of Filipinos who cannot afford to buy their own homes. (See, “The Mass Housing Mess: Why Filipinos Continue to Struggle to Own a Home”, in the Business mirror, January 3, 2019). It may require enormous resources, but investments in disaster-resistant housing will pay off in the long term. In addition to the fact that it will help prevent deaths, disaster-resistant homes also save taxpayers an additional burden because the government would no longer have to shell out billions of pesos to rebuild devastated cities every time a strong typhoon hits the country. .
Policy makers should push for initiatives that protect Filipinos and families from the harmful effects of climate change. Scarce resources must be invested in programs and projects that enable cities and towns to withstand strong typhoons and other natural disasters. Legislators who approve the annual budget of national and local governments must demand it from interested agencies and officials.
Instead of funneling scarce resources into beautification projects, the government should invest taxpayers’ money in building disaster-resistant housing, strengthening existing earthquake structures, and collecting data and establishing databases. data that local governments can use in planning. Rolly is not the last monstrous storm to visit the Philippines and damage the economy (See, “Toll of 10 years of disasters in PHL: P463 billion damages, 12,000 lives”, in the Business mirror, October 29, 2020). While preparation can be expensive, it is the only way to minimize the adverse impact of severe storms on local farms and industries and prevent fatalities.
