Natural Disasters

Super typhoons. Earthquakes. Floods. Eruptions. These are just some of the ways nature unleashes her tremendous power, a power that can bring about the destruction of entire cities and invite death into the lives of humankind.

One of the main elements involved when a natural disaster strikes and brings about or causes poverty is the inability to cope with it. The poor simply lack the sufficient finances to protect themselves from the incoming and inevitable displays of nature’s wrath. They also do not have the financial strength to rebuild quickly and to recover their livelihoods.

Typhoons and Flooding

The Philippines, situated right beside the Pacific Ocean, is a prime target of powerful super typhoons and titanic storms. Every year, from around early June to late January, the rainy season brings an average of 20 typhoons that lash out crops and wash away precious topsoil. Such utter destruction was demonstrated during the latter part of 1998 as the super typhoon Iliang (internationally named Zeb) hit the Visayas and Luzon regions of the Philippines with winds at 240 kph and gusts registering at 195 kph. Floodwaters rose neck-height, and sank low-lying areas in the country. Power was out for more than three days in the provinces, and traffic mounted in the cities. After the storm, the death toll mounted to 81 and injuries at 59, while 1 million people were left homeless.

What are the results of such forces? Although the citizenry from the middle class above can well afford protection, those living near and below the poverty line certainly cannot. Powerful winds rushing at a hundred miles per hour have the power to literally blow away the shanties of those dwelling in the slums. The continuous sheets of rain pouring down from black skies creates rushing floods that bring away the wooden shacks of those slums located near the Pasig River and other bodies of water.

The poor have no protection against such awesome forces. When the winds come, the aluminum roofs over their heads are blown away. As the floods arrive, the slum dwellers save what they can because such raging waters do not have mercy for anyone. Unfortunately, that only counts for the property damage alone. Hundreds upon thousands of lives have been lost due to the relentless onslaught of typhoons that batter the country.

After such an assault, it would be extremely difficult to rebuild everything because of the tremendous amount of damage that has been done. As a result, people plunge deeper into hardship and suffering. Many are left without homes, jobs … and lives.

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