Philippine’s Never-ending Struggle

Flood has been a major problem in the Philippines. It is a natural event or occurrence where
an area that is usually dry land, suddenly gets submerged. Many people die every year because
of this natural disaster. Most floods take hours or even days to develop, giving a small period of
time for people to prepare and to evacuate. If there is typhoon or low pressure area, sea level
rapidly gets high. According to the statistics from worldbank.org, typhoons and floods are the most
devastating in terms of their economic and social impact, accounting for 80 percent of all deaths,
90 percent of the total number of affected people, and 92 percent of the total economic impact. It
gives massive destruction to our agricultural products, buildings and natural environment. In fact,
by November 2016 alone, a great flood has affected 1.5 million people, mainly concentrated in
Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon and CAR (GIEWS, Country Brief).

One may look at the social context of flood through the susceptibility of an area and its
relation which influence the probabilities of its occurrence. It may also include the awareness and
preparedness of affected people regarding the risk they live with, the institutions that are involved
in mitigating and reducing the effects of the hazards, and the existence of possible measures such
as evacuation routes to be used during the floods.

Sometimes, it’s not the rain that kills people in the Philippines during the rage of typhoons,
but the landslides. There is no other reason to blame for this but deforestation. Hills that lack trees
have fewer roots to keep the land intact. The heavy rains only make situations worse.

With the Philippines being surrounded by waters, about sixty per cent of population of the
country are living in the low lying, coastal villages. This makes them the most susceptible to storm
surges that are common and deadly during typhoons.

Apparently, there could have been a significantly lower death toll if only houses in the
Philippines are constructed with materials that can withstand extreme winds and storm surges. But
most people along the coastal area could not afford to build a well structured home, which is very
essential if you are living in a typhoon-prone country like the Philippines.

Floods are known to pose hazards to the society. Besides the the structural and agricultural
damages floods bring to an affected area, it also threatens life of the affected people by the
diseases (leptospirosis, cholera, hepatitis A, etc.. ) it potentially bring. Worst, it breaks family ties
and bring death to many. Nonetheless, despite the extreme destruction it brings, the recurring
natural phenomenon has stretched the resilience of the Filipinos.

History wise, the Philippines has been stricken with numerous deadly typhoons that carry
with it great floods and windstorms. Even before the occurrence of technological advancement,
native Filipinos had their own explanations of flood with varying myths from the Igorots to the
inhabitants in Bukidnon, Mindanao.

To date, different sources listed the deadliest floods that went down in the Philippines
history. Nonetheless, the the recent havoc by Typhoon ‘Ondoy’ in Luzon & ‘Yolanda’ in Visayas
are infamous for the widespread destruction it left in the country. History has shown over and
over again, that these recurring tragedies were never dealt with proper preparation and risk
management. Furthermore, news after disaster brings even more confusion as government
officials and agencies point fingers to another.

On the other hand, these tragedies taught Filipinos to become a strong nation and a
better prepared country. Every natural disaster has indeed created countless stories - stories of
fear, worry, sorrow, and pain. There are also stories of relief after surviving the disaster; stories of
love, hope, courage and heroism. After all, the Philippines remained to be a strong country and
the people remained to optimistic. It is just a proof, that no natural disaster can ever break the
Filipino faith.

To add, this issue contributes to the production of conflict between institutions and affected
people following floods and create difficult contexts for public meetings and local engagement.
Actions to address this could come in the form of clear information about what people can expect
from key agencies in post flood contexts (i.e. local government, the Environment Agency,
emergency services). This is not entirely straightforward, however, as expectations for government
support and assistance during recovery from floods are embedded in deeper understandings or
ideals about the role that government should play in ensuring the socio-environmental conditions
needed to live healthy lives. Within the stories of flooded individuals, there were many examples of
how the negative impacts of flooding can be mitigated by support from the community, through the
networks and relationships that exist for example through schools, the Church, or friends and
neighbors.

Indeed, Social Sciences can help through improving or implementing some rules and some
activities for us by making people on the community be more aware of the phenomena that may
happen in this country. Our knowledge should be more adept about social and natural events, for
we do not know possibilities that may happen before, during and after the said phenomena.
Contributions from the society will be a great help. The importance of Social Sciences in relation to
this natural phenomenon may be presented to: a) setting the agenda, by identifying evidence based
policies, advisory and regulatory roles; b) by supporting programs, projects and people in response
to long-term strategic needs, medium-term policy priorities and shorter-term operational
requirements.

Overall, the natural phenomenon of flood has been long part of the Philippine culture and
Filipinos have manifested different ways to deal with it. Nonetheless, a clear and efficient solution
solution has never been well-implemented. The Philippines still suffer from this disaster every year,
yet different institutions have not formulated the most adequate solution. Institutions must learn to
see the interrelation of natural science from social science. From here, an effective and clear cut
policy-based solution from social science with the appropriate tools as product of natural science
may end the repetitive and unsolved problem faced by the Philippines – the flood and its hazards.

Editorial Essay: Carillo & Manrique