RSS Feeds: Typhoons and Floods in the Philippines
Typhoons are tropical cyclones which do as much damage to the Pacific islands as hurricanes do to the coasts of the continents. If you think the damage and loss of life from hurricanes in the coastal areas of the US (like Florida and Louisiana) is horrifying, you haven't seen the results of the typhoons to the islands in the Pacific.
Typhoon Ondoy
Recently, Typhoon Ondoy (internationally known as Typhoon Ketsana) touched down on the island of Luzon (the island I live on) and left hundreds of thousands of people homeless and hundreds of people dead in its wake. Metro Manila suffered immensely, but many small villages ended up being drowned by the flooding.
The weather in the Philippines isn't always hospitable. Just a couple of weeks prior to this particular storm, the downtown areas in my neck of the woods (Olongapo), were heavily flooded and there wasn't even a typhoon involved. It was nothing more than concentrated rain from the yearly monsoon.
Americans that Care
I'm not the only American living in the Philippines who cares what happens to the people here. I received a message from Rick Upshaw, the administrator of "Philippines Typhoon | Philippines Flood". He works as a call center consultant and donated the site to help raise awareness about the plight of the Filipinos affected by typhoons every year.
Rick asked me if I would like to contribute an article to the site, but I have to decline because I don't know enough about the topics to write anything resembling educated information, otherwise you'd see more articles like this on my own website. Anyway, I think Rick has done a fine job all by himself. If you have anything to contribute, just contact him via the contact form on his site.
Ignore the Misconceptions
Many people believe that residents of places where it rains all the time should be prepared for something like a typhoon, or any tropical storm, whenever they occur. While drainage systems and other measures can be put into place, nothing can stop Mother Nature when she decides to drop more rain in a specific location than can be handled in such a short time period.
Stormy weather is unpredictable, regardless of where it may occur. No amount of preparation and measures put into place can stop them from killing people and causing immense damage to property. Even the people of places where it's happened over and over again, in much more developed countries, can't stop them.
The Filipinos living in the Philippines are no different.
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Stormy weather is unpredictable, regardless of where it may occur. No amount of preparation and measures put into place can stop them from killing people and causing immense damage to property.