THE transit of Typhoon Carina in the last week of July, which flooded for days several areas in the metropolis and nearby provinces, should raise the wake-up call to Philippine authorities.
Given that the Philippines is an archipelagic country with a coastline of 36,289 kilometers, a joint scientific study released recently in Singapore becomes relevant and timely.
The study said typhoons in Southeast Asia are forming closer to coastlines, intensifying more rapidly and lasting longer over land due to climate change.
Researchers from the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore and Rowan University and the University of Pennsylvania in the United States analyzed “more than 64,000 modeled historic and future storms from the 19th century through the end of the 21st century” to come up with the findings, a statement on the study said.
Published in the peer-reviewed Nature partner journal Climate and Atmospheric Science, the study “highlights significant changes in tropical cyclone behaviors in Southeast Asia.”
The changes include “increased formation near coastlines and slower movement over land, which could pose new risks to the region,” the statement said, adding climate change, which has caused ocean waters to warm, can alter the paths of tropical storms in the region, home to more than 650 million people.
“Our study shows that as the cyclones travel across warmer oceans from climate change, they pull in more water vapor and heat,” said Benjamin Horton, director of NTU’s Earth Observatory of Singapore and a co-author of the research.
On this, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. was on track when, during a televised post-disaster situation briefing, he told subalterns he wanted specifics not general statistics.
The President wanted a clearer picture of how rescue and rehabilitation efforts were not only in the national capital region but in other regions lashed by the typhoon, which also caused landslides in some parts, which enhanced the southwest monsoon that brought intense rainfall.
We believe disaster response agencies must ensure, as the President said, Filipinos receive timely warnings about incoming typhoons, along with clear instructions on what actions to take and where to seek shelter or assistance.
We heard the President’s assurance that the safety of the public is his administration’s top priority, adding, in a post on Facebook the Marcos government is ‘committed to developing technology to protect lives for future calamities.’
The statement followed a sectoral meeting with the Department of Public Works and Highways, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, Department of Interior and Local Government, and other relevant agencies to discuss the government’s flood control program.
More than words this time, the President’s subordinates on the ground should look at the implementation of water impounding projects in watershed areas to mitigate flooding.
