Bracing for natural disasters

By Herbert Vego

AS I was writing this yesterday, 35 people had been reported dead and hundreds injured due to a magnitude-7.8 earthquake that struck Mindanao on Monday morning.

By now, worse statistics on fallen lives and properties would have been reported worldwide.

This latest big quake is nothing new.  I recall a similar magnitude-7.8 earthquake that hit Northern Luzon on July 16, 1990, killing 1,621 people, among whom were guests and personnel of the collapsed 12-storey Hyatt Terraces Hotel in Baguio City.

Now we hear about the possibility of the “big one” occurring in Metro Manila.

Sad to say, earthquakes are unlike typhoons and volcanic eruptions that could be pre-detected with the use of modern instruments.

Hence, we are better prepared whenever the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) announces bad weather coming.

Do you rush to a grocery store to fill a basket with meat, fish, vegetables, fruits and canned goods?

You are not panicky; you are just “arming” yourself against a threatening natural disaster.

Any natural disaster is metaphorically called an “act of God.” The metaphor paints the picture of man struggling to survive God’s punishment which could be in such forms as typhoons, flood, earthquake and tsunami.

People who are supposed to rest on their laurels, having retired and are tired of any more work, may suddenly lose everything they have to natural disasters. Imagine a farmer who loses what could have been a bountiful rice harvest to a typhoon. He suddenly falls back to poverty – if not under the ground for eternal rest.

Fear of death ranks as the number one reason why we dread natural disasters.

It has been almost 23 years ago since November 8, 2013 when super typhoon Haiyan (known locally as Yolanda) battered us with strong winds that wrecked thousands of homes and drowned thousands of people and livestock to death.

“God,” we heard survivors ask, “what have we done to deserve this punishment?”

But why blame God when it’s we who “sin” against nature? An example of such “sin” is illegal logging that depletes forest cover, consequently causing killer floods during rainy days. Because of the fault of the few, the innocent also suffers nature’s punishment.

One vital lesson natural disaster teaches us is that rich may lose everything and suddenly find themselves on equal footing with the poor. The poor may even be in a better position because they are already used to poverty, and so have better coping mechanism.

Another lesson is that we should always prepare for tomorrow’s disaster, even if today’s weather is fine. It is a “given” that disaster victims with reserve wealth – money in the bank, for instance – recover faster.

Those with nothing left face a blank wall. They could be so desperate as to commit suicide.

There are nevertheless ways to soften the impact of natural disasters. We have heard it said that God would not allow us to deal with problems we can’t cope with.

Share your feelings with others. Emotions need to be expressed. If you hold them in, they may only grow stronger in intensity.

Focus on self-care. A natural disaster can deplete you physically. It is very important that you put aside time for caring for yourself. Make sure you eat well, get enough sleep, and exercise.

While natural disasters have a high potential to place us at risk for stress, anxiety, and anger, there are ways to reduce the effect of a natural disaster, as in seeking the support of friends and relatives.

On the positive side, it alerts us into rediscovering that we are not the owners but just temporary custodians of our lives, the earth and all material possessions thereat. We bring no property to the afterlife.

“For all the earth is mine,” God said in Exodus 19:5.

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GROWTH OF MORE POWER MEANS GROWTH OF THE CITY

ON the “teleradyo” program “Reklamo Publiko,” hosted by Noni Basco and this writer on behalf of Radyo Mercado, Iloilo City Mayor Raisa Treñas stressed the growth of MORE Electric and Power Corp. (MORE Power) as a distribution utility (DU) mirrors the growth of the city itself.

MORE Power began operating in 2020 with 62,000 customers taken over from the previous DU. Six years later today, there are more than 110,000.

Iloilo City itself has grown by leaps and bounds under her watch and of her dad and predecessor, Mayor Jerry P. Treñas.

“Our city grows 15% year-on-year,” she said, crediting it to the influx of immigrants and tourists.