Reflections while recovering after #Kristine

With #Kristine, we saw how Bicol has become more vulnerable to extreme weather disturbances, which are becoming more intense, unpredictable, and frequent with climate change. This reality is made more complex by man-made disasters like poor infrastructure and development planning.

Damage -social, personal, and economic- is immeasurable. The losses in agriculture incurred in Bicol alone have reached an outstanding PhP3.5 billion, distributed in all six provinces, Camarines Sur, Albay, Masbate, Camarines Norte, Sorsogon, and Catanduanes, in that order according to a severest degree—the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) whose regional director, Retired Brig. General Claudio Yucot, whom I was communicating with at the height of #Kristine while being stranded on the third level of SM Naga since day one, reported extensive infrastructure damage to buildings, bridges, roads, public markets, schools, health facilities, evacuation centers, and houses. The number of dead has reached 40, many injured from battling high flood waters, and four are still missing.

Business in much of the urban centers stalled, but after the waters receded, thank God, the spirit of resilience returned with a vengeance. Slowly, the Muslim traders near commercial malls who lost their makeshift stalls have returned to sell their recovered wares. The furniture and foam mattress enterprises, stores, and eateries near Panganiban Drive, where flood waters rose to 10 feet during incessant rain pouring, struggle to return to business. People do not want to die begging. Some banks, boutiques, and grocery stores have remained closed, especially those struck by flood waters. Piles of garbage in the interior streets of Barangays Dayangdang, Tinago, Lerma, Balintawak, and Blumentritt remain and have become an eyesore.

While #Kristine captured headlines and national attention, it only did so for a few days. The work toward recovery and rehabilitation is long-term and will be painfully expensive. Homeowners of subdivisions on the outskirts of Naga City, where families whose members met their tragic deaths and others went missing, are still in shock and in search of answers.

Bicol is one of the most disaster-prone regions in the world. It is located in the typhoon belt; its eastern section is exposed to the Pacific Ocean and the Pacific Ring of Fire, regularly hit by natural hazards. Rich and poor, every Bicolano and everyone who stays in Bicol will have to accept the reality that disaster can come at any time. Climate change is exacerbating the risks of disasters. In Camarines Sur, the most vulnerable to the danger of high-rise floods are the following: 1) the urban low-income families who live along or near the Bicol River; 2) residents and establishments in low-lying areas on the location of the so-called catch basins.

How people adapt and recover after adversity is crucial for disaster preparedness and response. Once hit, emotionally recovering from a disaster can be very difficult. Those with relatively easy access to recovery loans and government assistance can bounce back faster. But what about the poor and the marginalized? During the Pandemic, the TBM’s HEAL (Health Environment and Alternative Livelihood) program was a commendable program for resilience that includes the Kurit Aki psychosocial intervention for children and families, Pagheras and Gulayan sa Bakuran. Its organizational development for self-reliance helps prepare families and children to face and reduce their vulnerability to disasters. Preventive, preparedness, and mitigation are urgent, not just mandated needs. Combined psychosocial intervention, education, and social enterprise development can effectively build self-reliance and self-confidence. We cannot stop natural disasters but arm ourselves with knowledge and skills and more community engagements: so many lives are lost without disaster preparedness.

But technology innovations and equipment acquisition are essential. For example, when I was helping coordinate disaster response at the height of Kristine by remote, the grave lack of equipment, lifeboats, speed boats, and liferafts was overwhelmingly evident. Mariners has a vast pool of trained and abled volunteer rescuers but sadly limited without its own reliable rescue boats and from government. Ten years ago, I once proposed a project to have a livelihood cum rescuer boat adapted for every village or barangay, but I forgot all about it later.

We learn from every natural disaster. We learn something from it to respond to the next one better. We have several high-budget disaster risk management systems in place, but many say that the government needs to do more to implement climate-resilient programs and projects. In his visit to Bicol, the President discussed reviving the Bicol River Basin Development Project. Land development planners of subdivisions that saw many casualties from the floods should take a second look at their designs and motivation for development. A good drainage plan should be a requirement before any infra or new building is allowed.

On the road to recovery after Kristine, I realized how crucial it is to integrate disaster risk reduction in education and all legislation in order to save lives and mitigate the impact of disaster on communities and families. I also find the need to raise the level of humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, especially for Bicol, because of its specific conditions.

As we prepare to convene the Regional Social Enterprises Summit, the envisioned learning school for social enterprises should integrate knowledge and survival skills for entrepreneurs to protect and face disasters so the values-driven social enterprises become agents of raising social awareness and not just for raising income.