Five years ago on Sept. 26, Tropical Storm Ondoy intensified into a typhoon as it dumped a month’s worth of rain into Metro Manila within 12 hours. Officials described Ondoy as a “once-in-a-lifetime” weather disturbance as they appealed for international assistance.
Since then the nation has acquired additional Doppler radars to improve forecasting of the amount of rainfall expected. A color-coded rainfall warning system is in place, with regular reminders about the meaning of the color alerts so people can prepare for flooding in specific areas.
Other problems, however, call for long-term solutions and political will. Too many waterways and other natural paths for rain to wash out into the sea have been indiscriminately filled or blocked to make way for housing, commercial and industrial development. Politicians who rely on slum communities for votes refuse to clear waterways of informal settlers. Water pumping facilities need to be modernized, and taxpayers are wondering how the millions collected annually specifically for flood control are spent.
Last week a consortium of international aid groups funded by the European Union said that while the Philippines’ disaster preparedness has improved since Ondoy, gaps still need to be filled. This was evident when Super Typhoon Yolanda flattened parts of the Visayas last year, leaving death and destruction far worse than Ondoy did.
If climate change experts prove correct, Yolanda was no once-in-a-lifetime phenomenon, and neither was the catastrophic flooding spawned by Ondoy. Around the planet, freak weather has become the new normal. With even Metro Manila experiencing a powerful storm surge from Manila Bay, the nation cannot rule out the possibility of another great flood similar to the one spawned by Ondoy inundating the capital in the near future. Only last week, torrential rain brought by Storm Mario shut down Metro Manila.
Several countries are showing that there are better ways of dealing with regular flooding. The Philippines, which is on the path of tropical cyclones and is one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change, should give priority to flood control. At this point, flooding is as mismanaged as traffic in Metro Manila.