The Philippines has never been spared from natural calamities. Our spirit has always been tested since time immemorial. Our beautiful islands are prone to natural disasters: typhoons, floods, landslides, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes and tsunamis. This is because we are lying astride the typhoon belt, in the active volcanic region known as the “Pacific Ring of Fire†and in the geologically unstable region between the Pacific and Eurasian tectonic plates.
Why do we have so many typhoons? The Philippines is a country surrounded by moist air and warm water. Once combined, the air begins to spin in circles and a typhoon is formed. The country develops several typhoons every year because of our tropical climate. It seems to be a natural haven for such phenomenon.
Destructive typhoons have hit the country in the past three decades. Typhoon Nitang or Ike in September 1984 hit southern Mindanao and Central Visayas killing 1,492 people; Typhoon Uring or Thelma in November 1991 brought intense rains that caused severe flooding in Leyte, Cebu and Negros and killed at least 5,100 people; Typhoon Winnie in November 2004 hit the southern part of Luzon and Central Visayas and killed 1,593 people; Typhoon Frank or Fengshen in June 2008 hit Mindanao island and Metro Manila and killed 1,400, many of whom were on board the passenger ship Princess of the Star whose crew ignored the storm signal warning; Typhoon Ondoy in September 2009 caused P11 billion damage and 464 deaths; Typhoon Pepeng in October 2009 caused P27.3 billion damage and 465 deaths; Typhoon Pedring in September 2011 caused P15.6 billion damage and 85 deaths; Typhoon Sendong or Washi in December 2011 ravaged the southern region of Mindanao nine days before Christmas, killing 1,268 people many from Cagayan de Oro City and Iligan City; and Typhoon Pablo in December 2012 that caused P42.2 billion worth of damages and 1,020 deaths.
Last week, Yolanda, the most powerful typhoon ever recorded in the world, slammed into the Philippines with six landfalls setting off landslides, knocking out power and cutting communications in the Visayas region and parts of southern Luzon and northern Mindanao. And once again the Filipinos’ faith in God was tested.
The resilience of the Filipinos was best described in a CNN site when dudesk001 posted: “It’s time to know the Filipino people… unbelievably resilient, long suffering, good natured, ever friendly, ingenious, and a bunch of survivors. At the end of the day, Filipinos will just shake off the dirt from their clothes and go about their business… and SMILE. They do not complain much, they will bear as long as they can. Maybe this is why they were given the “privilege†of bearing the burden of the strongest typhoon ever recorded. The indomitable human spirit at its finest.â€
This comment was indeed a big boost to our weakened spirits. It sent us good cheer in times when we needed it most. In fact it has circulated the net as it was widely received by our countrymen in our lowest and darkest hours. Thank you! Dudesk001.
I usually sleep through a typhoon but Yolanda woke me up at 2 a.m. last Saturday morning. The howling sound of the gusty winds, the creaking sound of the swinging trees and the falling of objects everywhere made me so scared for the first time in my life. My kids were awakened and were quite anxious of what was going on. All I could do was to keep them close to me, all safely tucked in bed and covered in a comfortable blanket.
Yolanda may have just passed by Metro Manila but we still felt her intensity. How much more for those who live directly in the path of the storm? I can just imagine the agony they went through as darkness and madness surrounded them. It was like a scene from a movie with people running from all directions looking for shelter and protection from the storm surge that was as high as 15 feet drowning everything along the way. Strong winds and heavy rains ripped apart roofs of houses. Concrete structures (buildings, churches, schools) collapsed with no warning. Reports say that after the storm and the floods subsided about five hundred dead bodies were seen floating on the streets of Tacloban. The Red Cross estimated a total of 1,200 deaths.
Whenever natural events like this happen to the country I always believe that God is cleansing our spirits and making us stronger. Yes, God definitely believes that we can handle nature’s fury.
But have we become too complacent as a people who have gone through several disasters unscathed or are some of us too confident that they have a roof over their heads and could not care less about others living in cardboard boxes or in the streets?
Life goes on even for those who have lost their homes, their means of livelihood and their loved ones. How resilient can the Filipino be!
As the poor and illiterate continue to suffer the consequences of these natural disasters and man-made ones, the rich mayors, governors, congressmen, senators are safely tucked away in their palatial homes that have become imposing structures standing alone at the center of every town, city and province. Sanamagan!
I hope our people learn to become stronger in spirit and develop the wisdom to be able to fight for their rights so we can eventually save ourselves from man-made disasters created by our public officials – the very people who should keep us safe and out of harm.
I can’t wait for 2014 to bring in good cheer, good vibes, good health, and high spirits to our country. I don’t remember any feng shui expert or fortune-teller warning us about these devastating events but even if they did, it would just have been a fallacy to us. This is the real thing. It happened without any warning. In a world that has gone wrong in so many ways, this should serve as another wake-up call. Indeed, God works in mysterious ways and if we have faith in ourselves and in the Filipino people then nothing is impossible.
The earth mourns and withers, the world fades and withers, the exalted of the people of the earth fade away. The earth is also polluted by its inhabitants, for they transgressed laws, violated statutes, broke the everlasting covenant. Therefore, a curse devours the earth, and those who live in it are held guilty. Therefore, the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and a few men are left. – Isaiah 24:4-6