Always ready

Through cable TV and online media, the world was witness to the devastation wrought by Hurricane Sandy in the cities of New York and New Jersey.

Can anyone doubt that Climate Change is producing more powerful storms and making weather systems go haywire?

While the Sept. 11, 2011 attacks on the Twin Towers were swift and caught New Yorkers flat-footed, the arrival of Super storm Sandy had been forewarned by weather forecasters, who had the benefit of advanced technology at their disposal.

The damage and the loss of life—39 as of last Wednesday—were enormous but would have been far more costly if New York and New Jersey officials had been neglectful as, say, officials of Cagayan de Oro City who dawdled amidst the destruction inflicted by typhoon “Sendong” until one of their bodyguards had to leave because he had to rescue his family from raging floodwaters.

Super Storm Sandy destroyed properties and upended infrastructure in other parts of the US as well. It’s not as if Americans were insulated from neglectful officials.

The administration of former US president George W. Bush was criticized for failing to adequately respond to the needs of those devastated by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Still, what the Americans experienced with Super storm Sandy and how they would rebuild their cities and states in its aftermath would serve useful tools guides and reminders for how we as Filipinos can deal with typhoons that visit the country more than 10 times a year.

The Philippines is listed as one of the most vulnerable countries for Climate Change. There’s a presidential commission and countless committees formed to prepare for it.

Yet we still struggle to have reliable, fully functional mechanisms to prepare for and respond to emergencies arising from annual floods, earthquakes and other disasters.

The US has its Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

We have the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council who in partnership with the Office of Civil Defense are responsible for disaster management and preparedness.

Just watching TV coverage of the emergency response of New York is enough to wish we had the strong-willed, forward thinking leadership of Mayor Michael Bloomberg calling the shots from the capital of Manila.

The government is expected to take the lead, but with the familiar reason given of a shortage of resources, the brunt of relief and emergency response often falls on ordinary citizens, the private sector and even the Church to help affected families.

Let’s not wait for storms of the magnitude of Sandy, Ondoy or Sendong to visit again for us to be better prepared.