Floods in Gingoog City, Northern Samar, and Misamis Oriental drive thousands to evacuate

The rain on Sunday, January 11, 2009 brought flash floods that forced 651 families (3,289 people) in Gingoog City scampering for higher ground. About 9 people were reported missing. The same heavy downpour caused waters to rise in Cagayan de Oro City in 23 barangays The same rain caused electrical power interruptions in these areas. Source: GMATV.News (01/11/09)

While Bicol Region is on a flood watch, rising waters washed away at least 20 homes and made a major bridge in Opol town in Misamis Oriental province closed to vehicular traffic.

In Northern Samar, thousands of people were driven out of their homes as rain water rose and landslides swept the area over the weekend. Many people living in low-lying places had to stay in evacuation centers as they waited for the flood to recede. Six people were reportedly killed when they were buried by landslide in a place called Ocad, Lavezares.

Such damages and human suffering brought by the wicked weather have become more common. Weather watcher Pagasa reports an unusual surge in rainful volume in the last few days which authorities believe may extend till February.

Factors like deforestation and increased population in flood- prone areas are also to blame in the spate of flood-related emergencies. Flood prevention programs like tree planting, dredging of rivers, and relocation of people must be a collective community effort. =0=

RELATED BLOG: “Bicol reforestation “ Posted by mesiamd at 12/16/2008

==============================================================

Fish Dying on the Fence

As the flood waters recede after Hurricane Ike battered Orange, Texas, thousands of fish have been marooned on drying pools beside streets on September 15, 2008.

As if calling for help, some fish, in apocalyptic horror, were stuck on fences and died with their mouths and eyes open. This can be similar to the “cadaveric spasms” seen in humans prior to a stressful death.

Destruction in Texas is substantial. Help and rehabilitation are on-going for people who suffered the catastrophic effects of the wicked weather. As of this time, at least 20 are known to have died from the hurricane.(Photo Credits: AP/Eric Gay)

Significant Numbers

10%
-The percentage price of one gallon of gasoline Saudis pay (45 cents) compared to Americans who pay $4.50/gallon on the pump.

P11.583 billion-The National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCCl’s ) estimate of Typhoon Frank’s destructiveness. The amount constitutes 96.5% of the total expenditure the country shells out each year, covering an average of 20 typhoons, costing about P12,000 billion

P8,599/month
-What the lowly paid government street and utility worker needs to survive the rises in prices of commodities. According to Ferdinand Gaite, president of the Confederation of Unity, Recognition and Advancement of Government Employees (Courage,) this means a needed increase of P3,000 to the present salary of P5,999.

105 million
-The number of people who could drop below the poverty line due to the spiraling rise in fuel costs and prices of commodities. According to a World Bank study issued last week, 30 million of these people come from Africa.

$624 million
-The Asian Development Bank, one of the country’s biggest foreign lenders is thinking of loaning the Philippines in 2009 to help boost the economy. An additional 300 million loan is scheduled for 2010.

550 metric tons
-The amount of uranium transferred from Iraq to Canada last week in a secret operation according to Pentagon. The yellow cake was discovered in 2003 by US forces in Iraq’s Tawaitha Nuclear Research Facility which was placed under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy.

2012
-Based on an ancient Mayan calendar, the year the world is expected to end. Survival groups from Europe, Canada, and the US are preparing for the apocalypse—catastrophic events such as typhoons, nuclear detonations, tidal waves, earthquakes which they believe would usher in the end of days.

P50,000 million
-Sen. Jinggoy Estrada’s planned budget to repatriate more than 100 OFWs stranded in various countries in the Middle East.

$200
-The monthly salary of Filipino nurse-turned-maid Marichu Suarez Baoanan received from Amb. Lauro Baja who was accused of racketeering, illegal human trafficking, peonage, and forced labor. As of January 1, 2007, the General Industry Minimum wage of New York is $7.15/hour, roughly $1,601.60/month. Investigation of Amb. Baja is being urged by the Philippine government authorities.

$459,000
-Nazi hunters peg the reward money leading to the arrest of Aribert Heim, 94, known as Dr. Death who’s believed to have escaped to Chile with his daughter. =0=

Recurrent Shipwrecks And The Horrific Maritime Record in the Philippines

“The reason why there is the repeat of negligence among these shipping lines is because the law takes such a long time. We need to execute a swift prosecution and conviction of the guilty on this case,” -Sen. Francis Pangilinan. Malaya (06.25/07, Montemayor, J.)

Sulpicio Lines—that’s the company! The recurrent shipwrecks befalling this shipping outfit are disgusting entries in the bloody maritime record of the Philippines. The inter-island company has the hideous distinction of being involved in several of the world’s unforgettable ship mishaps, one of them, the history’s worst sea disaster which claimed the lives of innocents, larger in number than those who perished in 911.

Princess of the Stars keeled at the height of Typhoon Frank (see pictures by Reuters.) With shifting inaccurate numbers of passengers which cast doubt on the veracity of the manifest, the ill-fated ship was whacked and swallowed by the churning waves—bigger and more fearsome than the rugged tall mountains nearby. Disaster-prone Philippines had been in a state of temporary shock, begging for international aid.

Pray for those who died. They need justice. Think of the victims’ families who shed tears, their eyes red in seething anger. In grief, they know their poor loved ones are gone, never to set foot on dry land again. Perhaps they’ll not get the justice they deserved. Think of the good works the hapless 800+ victims could have contributed in their lifetime if they weren’t cut silent by negligence, bad luck, or act of God.

MV Princess of the Stars, sank during Typhoon Frank, 800 plus missing or lost, June 22, 2008
MV Dona Marilyn, sank during Typhoon Unsang, Oct 24, 1988, 250 lives lost
MV Princess of the Orient, sank during Typhoon Guding, Sept 18, 1988, 150 lives lost
MV Dona Paz, sank after a collision with tanker Vector, Dec 20, 1987, 4000+ died (worst maritime disaster in history)

How can we rest our thoughts with this? We have ample blame to spread around. The “royal” liner sank with several capsized smaller boats at the height of the storm. Littered bloated bodies in the sea soon commingled after Typhoon Frank left, making it hard to know from which sunken ferry they came from. Does God bear grudge on our people?

Not learning its lessons, Sulpicio Lines pulled through (with least accountability) in the past. The rulings on earlier shipwrecks placed little blame on this company whose victims, too poor to wage protracted legal battles, hungered for justice.

Since the storm’s path could be ascertained in real time, its progress could be accurately charted. There should have been ample wiggle room to successfully escape the typhoon if caution was observed.

Negligence and incompetence were more likely when too frequent mishaps recurred in the hands of the same people—the ship’s crew and the Coast Guard. Whether Sulpicio Lines and the Coast Guard took safety and human life for granted was something the whole nation deserved to know.

The United States donated $100,000 to the ferry disaster fund. The French government also offered help. In appeals so familiar, the Catholic Bishop Conference of the Philippines (CBCP,) Pres. Gloria M. Arroyo and the swanky troop of 59 senators who joined her to the White House, begged for more generous donations.

Who will ascertain that these dole-outs will go to the right beneficiaries? How much will the ferry company spend as aid and compensation? With taxpayer’s money, how much will the government spend to put this avoidable tragedy far in the backstage— so that the next national disaster in the offing can catch our attention? =0=

Wicked Weather In The Philippines: A Ship Capsizes, Hundreds Die

When the rainy season came, we felt a sense of foreboding. The intense heat of summer had given way to heavy rains which slowly brewed into a storm. Typhoon Frank battered the emerald islands, pushing Filipinos into new heights of peril and death.

According to Associated Press (06/22/08, Alexander,P,) more than 700 people are missing when a ship capsized in central Philippines. A hundred plus more died in various parts of the country during the typhoon. Like a recurrent déjà vu, the storm’s aftermath left a footprint of damage and misery that could only make us cry.

Presumed safe to ride the waves, the lissome passenger ship called “Princess of Stars” went aground in bad weather. Part of the Sulpicio Lines fleet, the ill-fated ferry had more than 700 passengers and crew members unaccounted for or presumed dead after the ship’s engine failed at the height of the storm. Such deaths during a typhoon are flat reminders of how fickle the earth’s climate could be.

Before accounting for the millions lost, we think if human error or negligence plays a role in the ship’s sinking. With travel safety and weather advisories sometimes ignored by transport operators, we’ll soon learn more about the tragedy at a time when it’s too late to make any difference for those who perished. We can only guess how risky it would be to ride a boat together with incompetence and bad weather.

Only 10 are known to have survived as of this writing. Those who know someone in the ill-fated ferry are visibly distraught and madly resentful. They grieve over their loss—loved ones who won’t probably go home to tell their ordeal at sea. The people vainly seek for answers, waiting for help, hope, and consolation from the authorities.

But in spite of the emotional woes and material losses that the victims bear, Typhoon Frank’s riveting pictures by Reuters and Associated Press show the people’s resilience, their way of coping when a disaster strikes.

A slow but heavy bulldozer served like a bus which carried distressed villagers to safety. The poor folks braved the rising flood, bringing along any possession they could save from damage homes. After the water subsided, families gathered what was left of their possessions. Innocent children waded in murky cesspools that formed, unmindful of the grime, germs, and floating debris which inundated their neighborhoods.

It’s unclear how far we can prepare for the next wicked weather. But we need to ready. As disasters do not discriminate between the rich and poor, for the most part, it is often the poor who suffers most. We still have a long way to go in making disaster-preparedness part of our lives. We have yet to learn from the 4,000 plus deaths in our worst ship disaster in history, the sinking of Dona Paz in 1987.=0=