Typhoon damage

Just returned from a three day trip up north to the Provinces of Isabela and Nueva Viscaya where I joined a team assessing the damage caused by typhoon “Paeng” . The typhoon hit the northeast coast of the Philippines on Monday and caused landslides and flash flooding.

On our trip we met with the Provincial Governments and the Red Cross to find out more about the emergency. We were able to visit some of the communities affected by the flooding but couldn’t get to the worst hit areas as they were cut off by road from landslides. Luckily a helicopter had flown in earlier in the week to ferry the injured to hospital and deliver some supplies.

Once again I was amazed at the resilience of those affected. When we visited the barangays that had been flooded life seemed to have almost returned to normal. I was embarrassed at the hospitality we were shown by people- they rushed to find us seats, give us drinks and snacks and make sure we were comfortable despite the fact that they had just had their houses flooded and crops destroyed.

What was far more disappointing was the lack of emergency planning by the local authorities. Although typhoons hit this part of the country every year, the local governments had no real disaster management plan or policies. And what was worse was that their response to the emergency focused heavily on road and infrastructure rather than on the safety, protection and public health needs of the victims.