Main Entry: ty·phoon
Pronunciation: \tī-ˈfün\
Function: noun
Etymology: alteration (influenced by Chinese — Guangdong — daaih-fùng, from daaih big + fùng wind) of earlier touffon, from Arabic ṭūfān hurricane, from Greek typhōn violent storm
Date: 1771
On an average, eighteen to twenty-plus typhoons hit the Philippines every year. And yesterday, the worst just hit Metro Manila--Ondoy.
These typhoons would not spare us every year. But it seems that all of us never learn from these experiences and end up repeating the agonies, leaving us empty.
As of this moment, I am sure that many of our kababayans are still stranded on the road, offices or schools. Some are spending their night on evacuation centers and with much pity, on their roofs.
Again it leaves us pondering; Why is this, why is that. Because of this, because of that.
I remember in my NatSci class, our professor told us in his class that Manila will never be spared by floods because during the Spanish times, majority of the city was water. Even history would give us idea how Manila looked like by searching its etymology--a flower blossoming on the water (nila is a flowering mangrove plant; may nilad = there is nila). Our professor added that the roads then were built by means of pouring boulders of rock and sand. Kinda similar to what Marcos did in CCP. So practically, Manila is water underneath. But will that be an excuse why there is flooding? No.
As far as I can remember, National Geographic featured one country in Europe (maybe Netherlands), where scientists make research on possible calamities that may hit their country working hand in hand with their government to avert, or at least lessen the catastrophe. Common sense directs them that when these events happen, nobody else but them will get the beating. Did they make an excuse? No.
Even in Japan, they make buildings that are quake-prone. Whether it is feasible or not, certainly they relied on research to come up with these ideas. Did they make any excuse? No.
It is always part of the Pinoy culture to turn to God when calamities happen. Surely, God will always listen to prayers. But He will listen more if someone does the research.
On the brighter side of things, when calamities occur, the bayanihan culture of Filipinos suddenly springs out of nowhere. How and why us Filipinos would suddenly seem to care to each other is unexplainable. But how we get back to our selfish selves when the calamity is over is unthinkable.
Keeping aside the usual bayanihan, Filipinos also made visible its being tech-savvy. We utilized Twitter, Plurk, live streaming news and Facebook. I am thousand miles away from home and I have seen how knee-deep flood penetrated my favorite Tropical Hut branch in Riverbanks, my son's favorite carabao replicas diminished by the river, and the once-peaceful and shallow Marikina river went mad. Status messages on where to ask help, missing and dead people, donations and other updates on the typhoon just keep on coming every second. Now transistor radios are really obsolete.
Ondoy has skinned our government's poor response to calamities. Surely our rescue workers have the heart, skills and guts but they just don't have the equipment. Even in one of the interviews on TV, I found out that the spotlight used to transport the evacuees was coming from the camera of a popular network station. How can the rescue team rely on that?
The weather bureau has been the talk of the town for so many years due to its ineffective weather predictions. Good thing that Ondoy happened on a Saturday. I can't really imagine the scenario if it happened during the weekday. Spare the kids please. Our government must have lost common sense by denying the modernization of PAGASA. It been overdue. There's no doubt that our scientists are good, but they just can't predict accurately using decade-old barometers.
After all of what happened yesterday, is it the time to empower local government units? Is it the time to modernize weather bureau by our own pockets? Educate everyone on calamities?
Before you stalk, post comments or make a fan page of your favorite presidential bet, think twice about this. Make a decision and shout it on your wall post.
These typhoons would not spare us every year. But it seems that all of us never learn from these experiences and end up repeating the agonies, leaving us empty.
As of this moment, I am sure that many of our kababayans are still stranded on the road, offices or schools. Some are spending their night on evacuation centers and with much pity, on their roofs.
Again it leaves us pondering; Why is this, why is that. Because of this, because of that.
I remember in my NatSci class, our professor told us in his class that Manila will never be spared by floods because during the Spanish times, majority of the city was water. Even history would give us idea how Manila looked like by searching its etymology--a flower blossoming on the water (nila is a flowering mangrove plant; may nilad = there is nila). Our professor added that the roads then were built by means of pouring boulders of rock and sand. Kinda similar to what Marcos did in CCP. So practically, Manila is water underneath. But will that be an excuse why there is flooding? No.
As far as I can remember, National Geographic featured one country in Europe (maybe Netherlands), where scientists make research on possible calamities that may hit their country working hand in hand with their government to avert, or at least lessen the catastrophe. Common sense directs them that when these events happen, nobody else but them will get the beating. Did they make an excuse? No.
Even in Japan, they make buildings that are quake-prone. Whether it is feasible or not, certainly they relied on research to come up with these ideas. Did they make any excuse? No.
It is always part of the Pinoy culture to turn to God when calamities happen. Surely, God will always listen to prayers. But He will listen more if someone does the research.
On the brighter side of things, when calamities occur, the bayanihan culture of Filipinos suddenly springs out of nowhere. How and why us Filipinos would suddenly seem to care to each other is unexplainable. But how we get back to our selfish selves when the calamity is over is unthinkable.
Keeping aside the usual bayanihan, Filipinos also made visible its being tech-savvy. We utilized Twitter, Plurk, live streaming news and Facebook. I am thousand miles away from home and I have seen how knee-deep flood penetrated my favorite Tropical Hut branch in Riverbanks, my son's favorite carabao replicas diminished by the river, and the once-peaceful and shallow Marikina river went mad. Status messages on where to ask help, missing and dead people, donations and other updates on the typhoon just keep on coming every second. Now transistor radios are really obsolete.
Ondoy has skinned our government's poor response to calamities. Surely our rescue workers have the heart, skills and guts but they just don't have the equipment. Even in one of the interviews on TV, I found out that the spotlight used to transport the evacuees was coming from the camera of a popular network station. How can the rescue team rely on that?
The weather bureau has been the talk of the town for so many years due to its ineffective weather predictions. Good thing that Ondoy happened on a Saturday. I can't really imagine the scenario if it happened during the weekday. Spare the kids please. Our government must have lost common sense by denying the modernization of PAGASA. It been overdue. There's no doubt that our scientists are good, but they just can't predict accurately using decade-old barometers.
After all of what happened yesterday, is it the time to empower local government units? Is it the time to modernize weather bureau by our own pockets? Educate everyone on calamities?
Before you stalk, post comments or make a fan page of your favorite presidential bet, think twice about this. Make a decision and shout it on your wall post.
