EDITORIAL - Bracing for disasters

Just when people thought it was safe to travel again for the Holy Week break after two years of COVID lockdowns, the first tropical cyclone of the year hammered parts of the Visayas and Mindanao. As of late yesterday afternoon, at least 22 people were reported killed in landslides and floods spawned by Tropical Depression Agaton in Baybay, Leyte, with three more fatalities reported in Monkayo, Davao de Oro and in Cateel, Davao Oriental. Thousands of ship passengers were stranded in different ports. Another cyclone was spotted yesterday afternoon approaching Mindanao, prompting Signal No. 2 to be hoisted over Surigao del Sur. Tropical Storm Basyang is expected to make landfall in Caraga region today. The two cyclones hitting in the peak of summer provide a timely reminder about the need to prepare for this year’s typhoon season. People living in areas at high risk for landslides and torrential flooding must be prepared for rapid evacuation. This is not as simple as it sounds especially in small-scale mining areas. Sufficient facilities particularly for evacuation and relief efforts must be in place to prevent COVID infection and outbreaks of other diseases. But local governments, which are on the front lines of disaster response, are currently distracted by the election campaign. As Agaton prepared to exit and Basyang approached yesterday, over 13,000 people affected by heavy rainfall, landslides and torrential flooding were housed in 71 evacuation centers in the Visayas and Mindanao, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council. The evacuation centers are mostly in school compounds. With face-to-face classes expected to resume in the next school year, and with several school facilities still being used for COVID vaccination, there will be fewer areas available to house evacuees during typhoons this year. For evacuation centers without modular tents, there must be dividers between families. Water and sanitation facilities must be adequate. Masking, distancing and hand hygiene must be strictly enforced for all ages. Authorities must ensure that disaster preparedness and response will not be neglected even as the country is preoccupied with the elections and upcoming change of leadership. COVID has made disaster response riskier and more complicated. Authorities must be up to the task. AGATON TROPICAL DEPRESSION