Wide-ranging devastation

By Joshua Corcuera

Severe Tropical Storm Paeng, with international name Nalgae, brought devastation to several provinces in the Philippines and claimed dozens of lives. Though Paeng has winds of merely over a hundred kilometers per hour, the damage it brought is still considerable.

Here in Manila where I live, rains have been strong throughout Saturday. As of 11 AM this Saturday, PAGASA, the state weather bureau, said that Paeng will most probably hit Batangas and Cavite which is just south of Metro Manila.

By the time I write this article, it is 8:30 PM and the rain has been powerful for an hour now with strong winds occasionally. The situation earlier in the afternoon was similar, albeit the rain would stop after several minutes, and there were some jeepneys operating that time, while many nearby businesses were open, including a nearby pharmacy and goods store and even a small stall of mami and pares on the other side of the street.

Likewise, there were a few people on the streets during the morning and afternoon despite the inclement weather. In the community, there is neither serious damage nor flooding so far. However, some parts of Metro Manila were reported to be submerged in flood. Throughout the day, the rain and wind were strongest, at least from where I live, around 7:30 PM until now.

While Metro Manila is dealing with a storm, it would be those living in depressed areas such as slums who would face a lot of problems. The winds brought by Paeng may potentially bring damage to their homes.

Moreover, low-lying areas may be affected by flooding which could cause some households to evacuate as well. Even worse, Filipinos in the countryside have to deal with larger problems. For example, the Marabong Bridge in Leyte collapsed Friday afternoon due to the strong current of the river due to the storm, as reported by national news outlets. Aside from infrastructure, agricultural crops on the path of the storm would suffer.

Even in Mindanao, the typhoon’s impact was felt despite Paeng having its landfall in the Bicol Region and southern parts of Luzon. Sadly, casualties have been reported in the southern island, particularly in Maguindanao due to multiple landslides.

In Western Visayas, Daily Guardian has reported several urgent news relating to the typhoon’s devastation. On a Facebook post by the regional publication on Saturday just before noon, “a part of the Paliwan Bridge in Antique collapsed due to heavy rain and flooding brought by Paeng.”

Last Friday evening, the same publication reported that a barangay in San Jose, Antique was flooded and posted a video of a man from the same province who braved flash floods to save his two cows.

We can see the importance of journalism, especially regional journalism, to document and bear witness on the things that happen around society. It is something that journalists are trained for, and it is something they were prepared for and taught when they were in school.

More importantly, the spirit of helping one another, or bayanihan, is crucial at all times, especially when we deal with unfortunate events such as natural disasters. After all, we are on the same boat and no man is an island.

Our resilience as a people, however, must not be glorified and it is imperative to demand for immediate help from the-powers-that-be since we have paid our share of taxes to them.