Super Typhoons, Earthquakes, Floods, and Eruptions

These are just some of the ways nature unleashes her tremendous power, a power that can bring about death and destruction into the lives of humankind.

One of the main elements involved when a natural disaster strikes 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. For most Filipinos it brings about or causes poverty. 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 150 mph and gusts registering at 121mph. Floodwaters had risen to 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 middle class 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 make-shift houses of those dwelling in the slums. The continuous sheets of rain pouring down from black skies creates rushing floods that carries 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 try to 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.

Earthquakes

Although earthquakes are not common in the Philippines as they are in other countries, the few tremors that shook the islands have left a bloody legacy behind. One such earthquake leveled a multi-story hotel building in the city of Baguio. The incident killed numerous people and wounded others.

Earthquakes cause poverty for the simple reason that the houses of those who cannot afford brick and stone are easily brought down to the ground. People are sometimes killed when they are caught inside the house during such catastrophe.

People usually can rebuild after earthquakes because not much of their belongings would have been carried away like in the case of a flood. The major factor here is loss of life. Sometimes the breadwinner of the family is the one killed. If that happens the rest of the family members are sometimes stuck without a means of living ? permanently.

Volcanic Eruptions

The most frightening thing with volcanic eruptions is the lava flow and ash fall. When the lava flows down a mountainside not only does it burn everything in its path it also makes the land useless for years. Farmers suffer the most from this type of disaster. Ash fall is another side of the eruption; it can blanket entire towns causing a massive slowdown on transportation and other public services. The pollution in the air can bring about sickness as well as death (for those suffering bronchial diseases).

Such a catastrophe arrived when Mt. Pinatubo finally woke up from its long slumber in 1991. More than 5 billion cubic meters of ash and pyroclastic debris were ejected from its fiery bowels producing eruption columns 11 miles wide at the base and heights reaching up to 30 miles above the volcano?s vent. When nature?s verdict came, 847 people were dead, 184 injured and 23 people where missing. Around 150,000 families were displaced, and infrastructure damages mounted to hundreds of millions of dollars. Much more would be spent for rehabilitation and reconstruction of the entire Central Luzon region.

In a volcanic eruption, the farmers would have an extreme difficulty to recover from the damage because the land is their main source of livelihood. The land becomes useless; In addition to this the lava flow could have swept away their homes, leaving them without a roof over their heads. Ultimately, the loss of life brings about the worst suffering.