DISASTER IN THE PHILLIPINES!

DISASTER IN THE PHILLIPINES!

(Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Seth Borenstein)

(Glossary of Meteorology, Pedro Ribera, Frazer Chronicle)

Man and nature created the typhoon that blasted unto the shores of the Philippines on November 7-8 lead by a sea-surge that was 20’ in height. The devastation has been heart rending, the death count is going to take weeks to determine, the displaced could reach a million, and the number of structures that are completely obliterated will be hard to determine for weeks and weeks.

Typhoons or tropical cyclones are called bagyo locally, and there not isolated, in fact Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration track between 6 and 9 in a typical year in the Philippine area of Responsibility, (PAR). The Philippine archipelago (group of islands) is completely surrounded by water, lies at the western rim of the Pacific Ocean, north of the equator and about 600 miles from the Asia Mainland. The area is bounded to the west by the South China Sea, on the east by the Pacific Ocean, on the north by the Bashi Channel, and to the south by the Sulu and Celebes Seas.

The 7,000 islands of the Philippines sit in the middle of the world’s most storm-prone region, which gets some of the biggest typhoons because vast expanses of warm water act as fuel and few land masses to slow the storms down. I suppose you could compare the PAR as a funnel that draws the storms into a collision path with the islands.

Half of the storms on an informal list of the strongest storms to hit land in the 20^th and 21^st centuries have ended up striking the Philippines. In the past 29 years the 9 deadliest cyclones or typhoons have taken at least 26,000 lives, and caused more than $24 trillion dollars in damage.

And the water, tropical storms are the wettest of nature’s events, dumping as much as 87” in a 24 hour period, or the top ten storms with an amassing total of 397” or close to 40” in 24 hour periods. So what you have here is water from the seas, and inundated water from the heavens.

HUMANS PLAYED A ROLL IN THE DASTER TOO

Meteorologists point to extreme poverty, a huge growth in population and shoddy construction as reasons for the continued struggle that the island nations and its people have. An example would be the population surge in the provincial capital Tacloban which nearly tripled from about 76,000 to more than 221,000 in the last 40 years.

Scientists say man-made global warming has contributed to raising seas and a general increase in strength in the most powerful tropical cyclones. However scientists did say that it is “impossible to attribute a single weather event like typhoon Haiyan” on any single cause.

Haiyan hit the island nation with a storm surge that was two stories high, and some of the highest winds every measured in a tropical cyclone…..195 mph as clocked by U.S. satellites or 147 mph based on local reports.

What you have was a very intense storm hitting a nation that is ill equipped to deal with the initial storm or the aftermath. To me this is one of the most surprising stories to come out of the disaster; the area is hit every year with killer type storms…..for years, and yet are ill prepared to deal with an event that everybody knows is going to happen.

ONCE AGAIN, NO PREPERATION FOR THE INEVITABLE

Roads are blocked, in many cases devastation has been total, neighborhoods are twisted piles of rubble, trapped and decomposing bodies intermingled. Authorities say at least 9.7 million people in 41 provinces have been affected by the storm and is likely the deadliest natural disaster to hit the island chain.

Shattered communication and transportation links, counting the bodies of the deceased will take weeks, getting help to the victims and injured will take days…..at the present time only helicopter drops are used in many areas, and the disaster is coming up on a week old.

The poverty of the area, of course, played a huge part in the overall disaster as some had little or no advanced warning…..almost a crime in today’s world. Without doubt authorities need to address a competent evacuation, medical and communication plan to fix a huge problem.

As the Philippines reels from the massive typhoon, world leaders are meeting in Poland for the next two weeks to discuss and hopefully lay the groundwork for a new climate change pact. Despite the seeming urgency of the issues, stubborn sticking points remain and no major decisions are expected at the conference which commenced this past Monday in Warsaw’s National Stadium.

Climate change is scary, scary stuff, just ask any one of the millions that are suffering in the Philippines, I’m sure they’d be glad to offer a piece of their minds. Global greenhouse gases, raising sea-levels, poverty and preparedness all need to be addressed.

Finger pointing will do absolutely no good at all; it’s a waste of energy as well as everybody’s time, the clock is running not only on our climate, but on us all. The debate is over…..common sense needs to be applied and a move towards better management of our resources…..as well as industry. If we don’t do these things, how well will industry do when they wake up one morning a find that half of the world’s population is either sick, or dying from some natural disaster and no one is there to buy their goods.

HAVE A NICE DAY!