Yolanda disaster (before and after): whose fault was it?

[explorer]

was it Yolanda's fault? was it pinoy abnoy's fault? was it mar roxas' fault? was it nognog's fault? was it dinky's fault? was it romualdez's fault? was it kring-kring's fault? was it korena's fault? was it cooper's fault? was it local government official's fault? was it the political system's fault? was it Catholic's God's fault? was it INK's fanatic's fault? was it pacquiao's fault? was it napolis fault? or is it the political spinners' fault?

let's me start from this: Timeline: Storm surges in the Philippines

click the link above if you want to see the timeline for the storm surges that happened in the past.

Timeline: Storm surges in the Philippines

ABS-CBNnews.com
Posted at 11/23/2013 2:07 AM | Updated as of 11/23/2013 2:09 AM

MANILA - The storm surge that devastated Tacloban City and many parts of the Visayas on November 8 was not a unique phenomenon.

Storm surges created by typhoons have struck the county many times in the past.

One storm surge on October 12, 1897 hammered Leyte and Tacloban City, killing as many as 7,000 people, according to historical records.

The Barrier Miner, an Australian newspaper, gives an account of the 1897 storm surge that is eeriely similar to the November 8, 2013 event that has killed more than 5,000 people and left more than 1,600 missing.

"The hurricane reached Leyte on October 12 (1897), and striking Tacloban... reduced it to ruins," the newspaper said.

"The sea swept inland for a mile, destroying property...many natives lost their lives," it added. "Thousands of natives are roaming about the devastated province seeking food and medical attendance."

The Department of Science and Technology's Project NOAH has published a timeline of storm surges that have hit the Philippines in recorded history.

[explorer]

are filipinos safety concious?

from: PH needs culture of safety: scientist

click the link above if you want to watch the video.

MANILA - The Philippines needs to establish a culture of safety and disaster preparedness especially with the number of typhoons hitting the country every year, the executive director of Project NOAH said Friday.

Dr. Mahar Lagmay, a geologist and professor at UP Diliman, said preparing for a disaster takes more than just a couple of days.

"A culture of safety does not just involve the government but the community and every family. The Philippines experiences the most number of hazards every year including earthquakes and powerful typhoons. This is a culture that evolves, in months and even years," he told radio dzMM.

Lagmay urged Filipinos to adopt a bottom-up approach and read up on possible disasters including earthquakes and typhoons so that they are prepared when the government gives a warning.

[marg]

Tacloban mayor ang tunay na TNGAA. He never understood what was coming.

Hanging in the beach house while the storm struck.

[explorer]

When a disaster hits the country, it’s not always the national government that acts first.

the article (link below) is quiet long...but it's a well-researched article and clearly says who should be doing what before and after the disaster..

from: The role of LGUs, local councils during disasters

[explorer]

Tacloban mayor ang tunay na TNGAA. He never understood what was coming.

Hanging in the beach house while the storm struck.

i should have said that first...but someone beat me

[explorer]

Yolanda is history...everyone knew more will be coming...

from: ‘Leyte was warned two years ago’

‘Leyte was warned two years ago’

By Helen Flores (The Philippine Star) | Updated November 22, 2013 - 1:00am

MANILA, Philippines - Residents of coastal communities in Leyte were warned as early as two years ago of severe flooding from storm surges reaching as high as 12 meters (39.37 feet).

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said local executives of Leyte were provided with inundation maps in 2011 under the READY project funded by the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) through the United Nations Development Program.

The inundation map was designed in a worst-case scenario showing the coastal barangays of Leyte vulnerable to a high level of storm surges ranging from three to six meters, PAGASA added.

The three-year READY project (also known as Hazard Mapping and Assessment for Effective Community-Based Disaster Risk Management), was a joint collaboration of PAGASA, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs), National Mapping and Resource Information Authority (NAMRIA), and the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB).

The storm surge hazard mapping of Leyte showed most parts of Leyte, including Tacloban City, suffering inundation from four meters to 12 meters in a worst-case scenario.

Conducting the mapping were Wilfredo Tuazon, Nestor Nimes and Julie Nimes of the PAGASA’s Astronomical, Geophysical and Space Sciences branch.

The study recommended the construction of rigid seawalls and breakers with piled foundation for protection against storm surges.

“It is highly recommended to let the local governments use this (storm surge hazard map) as reference for their disaster mitigation and preparedness plans and land use planning,” the study said.

It also suggested the planting and preservation of mangroves along the shoreline as these help in dissipating big waves and storm surges.

Storm surges of up to seven meters devastated Tacloban City at the height of Typhoon Yolanda last Nov. 8.

Yolanda packed maximum sustained winds of 235 kilometers per hour as it made landfall in Guiuan, Eastern Samar, generating storm surges as high as seven meters, the average height of a two-story building.

Yolanda left more than 4,000 (recent report says more than 5,600) people dead, mostly from the Samar and Leyte provinces, and over a thousand missing.

[explorer]

warnings were given not only 2 days before landfall...

from: Tacloban City gov't warned of flood hazard in January

Tacloban City gov't warned of flood hazard in January

by Jojo Malig, ABS-CBNNews.com
Posted at 11/20/2013 10:58 PM | Updated as of 11/20/2013 10:58 PM

Palace released storm surge infographic 2 days before 'Yolanda'

MANILA - A geohazard map of Tacloban City was given to the local government by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources' (DENR) Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) months before typhoon Yolanda devastated the city, according to government records.

All towns and cities in the Eastern Visayas got the geohazard maps to help them prepare communities for typhoons, floods and other disasters, according to MGB Region 8 chief Alilo Ensomo, Jr., in a January 19, 2013 briefing in Tacloban City.

Ensomo urged local chief executives to use the geohazard maps that show potential environmental threats in their respective localities.

The maps indicate where environmental dangers lie, which local officials can use to determine the communities that need to be moved during typhoons or where evacuation sites should be built.

[explorer]

so who came prepared? who was the hero?

Here's a video interview of Mayor Al aired over BBC




from: Evacuation saves whole island from Typhoon Haiyan

Evacuation saves whole island from Typhoon Haiyan

By Andy McElroy

GENEVA, 15 November 2013 – The prompt evacuation of 1,000 people from a tiny island that had all 500 houses destroyed by Typhoon Haiyan saved the entire population according to a local leader who has been a long-time champion for disaster risk reduction.

The former Mayor of San Francisco, Cebu Province, Alfredo Arquillano, said years of work to strengthen community preparedness and reduce disaster risk prevented a catastrophe for the residents of Tulang Diyot. San Francisco is officially recognized as a role model by the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) in a highly hazard-prone part of the world.

“The day before, when it was clear how bad the typhoon would be, we decided to evacuate all 1,000 people. Because we’ve done so much work on disaster risk everyone fully understood the need to move to safety,” Mr. Arquillano said. He is still referred to locally as Mayor Al.

“My goodness, it was a good decision; it’s fair to say it saved everyone’s life. There is not one house left standing on the island, everything was wiped out.

“It just shows that preparedness pays. We have been working for years on early warnings, evacuations. The awareness level of the community was so high that it went well. We have worked hard to localize the international agreement on disaster risk reduction, the Hyogo Framework for Action.”

Tulang Diyot is about 1.5km long and 500 metres across at its widest and lies about 1km off San Francisco island, part of the Camotes Islands which are sandwiched between the larger neighbouring islands of Leyte to the east and Cebu to the west.

Mr. Arquillano who is a Champion of the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction’s Making Cities Resilient Campaign, said it was important now to work towards reducing future disaster risk.

“We’re already talking with the islanders that they should relocate to the main island (of San Francisco). They shouldn’t go back. While most people understand the risk because Tulang Diyot is so low-lying it is very hard for them not to return as this is their home.

“It will be a challenge to try to relocate them somewhere safe and where they can rebuild their livelihoods as fishermen or farmers.”

Under his leadership San Francisco won the UN’s Sasakawa Award for Disaster Risk Reduction in 2011 for its community work based on what is known as the ‘Purok system’, an indigenous method of self organization within villages.

As part of the ‘Capital Build Up’ programme, the community deposits agreed amounts as initial capital for post-disaster assistance.

[explorer]

except the storm surge...this province (aklan) was also hit by the eye of the storm...86% to 90% of the area was affected by Yolanda

from: Aklan disaster measures helped save lives

Aklan disaster measures helped save lives

By Paolo Romero (The Philippine Star) | Updated November 22, 2013 - 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines - Local leaders and residents of disaster-prone communities may learn some lessons from Aklan, which was among the provinces directly hit by Super Typhoon Yolanda but registered among the lowest casualties.

Aklan Gov. Florencio Miraflores and Rep. Teodorico Haresco said simple and practical preparations helped minimize casualties to only 11 dead even if most houses in the province were either destroyed or damaged by Yolanda.

Of the fatalities, three died in the hospital due to heart attack, they said.

“This is not even one percent of the total affected persons, which we determined to be about 447,000, in 338 barangays,” Haresco said. “We followed the instructions of the President to prepare if even our province is poor.”

He said the disaster preparedness strategy of the provincial government was to expect and prepare for “one big typhoon per year.”

Miraflores and Haresco said they joined hands to forcefully evacuate residents of coastal barangays, using the local police with loudspeakers. He said the evacuation was expensive but necessary.

“We struck fear in them (residents). We suspended classes one or two days before the typhoon and the teachers told their students to warn their families how strong the coming super typhoon was. With their families complete, they were able to discuss and prepare what to do,” Haresco said.

He said mobile kitchens, initially conceived as a business initiative, were set up in evacuation centers like in the Aklan State University to serve hot meals.

[badkuk]

are filipinos safety concious?

hellz no. just take look at the entire families riding on MCs with no helmets(as if it would do any good)

i sense that people have this "bahala na" attitude when it comes to these things. Problem is, the price of "bahala na" may not be acceptable after all.