The unprecedented widespread destruction of cataclysmic proportion wrought by Tropical Storm SENDONG (international name WASHI) in Mindanao, particularly Iligan and Cagayan de Oro, imparted ominous message that the worst is yet to come to the Philippines what with climate change's adverse effects remaining totally unpredictable and causing the most extreme conditions. All along I harbored the notion that Typhoon ONDOY (international name KETSANA) was the most devastating typhoon that ever waylaid the country, of which I was one of the fortunate survivors. Yet, SENDONG, which amount of rainfall was much lesser than ONDOY, precipitated horrendous floods bearing numerous cut logs and debris that swept structures along the path leaving thousands of residents either killed, injured or missing. As such, we, survivors of ONDOY, were more fortunate since the twenty feet depth of the raging floods were mostly water and mud.
Despite the frequent occurrence of such massive calamities in various places in the Philippines, the government and the people seem to be totally condemned to the harsh reality that history always repeats itself in our country. Citing Philippine Disasters furnished by GOOGLE's www.txtmania.com/trivia/disasters.php, "According to the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the Philippines was the fourth most accident prone country in the world. The two institutions arrived at this conclusion after finding out that some 5,809,986 Filipinos were killed or injured as a result of disasters or man-made calamities over a ten-year period (1992-2001)." "According to the Philippine Red Cross, 31,835 Filipinos were killed and 94,369,462 others were affected by natural disasters and calamities in a span of 20 years." "The Philippines was a natural laboratory for floods, typhoons, monsoon rains, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and landslides," 'Philippine National Red Cross governor Dante Liban said."' (Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer).
"Worst Disasters in History - On July 12, 2000, the Philippines witnessed one of the world's most horrifying images of social tragedy in history. Nearly 500 garbage scavengers who were living literally at the Payatas dumpsite in Quezon City were buried alive under tons of garbage when a 50-foot garbage mountain collapsed on their makeshift houses at the height of torrential rains. It was a tragic commentary on poverty in the Philippines, yet the lesson remains to be learned to this day."
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