What is the human cost of two deadly typhoons pummeling the Philippines? | DW News

Key Concepts

• Super Typhoon Fun Wong (Ulan): The most powerful typhoon to hit the Philippines in the current year, causing significant damage and evacuations.
• Typhoon Kamagi: A previous typhoon that resulted in over 200 fatalities, highlighting the recurring vulnerability of the Philippines to severe weather.
• Vulnerability: Factors contributing to the Philippines' susceptibility to typhoons, including geographical location, poverty, and lack of adaptive capacity.
• Climate Change: The role of anthropogenic climate change in increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events.
• COP 30: An upcoming climate conference in Brazil, emphasizing the global need to address the climate crisis.
• Corruption: The detrimental impact of corruption on flood control projects, leading to substandard infrastructure and loss of life.
• Adaptation and Resilience: The necessity for communities and governments to build capacity to withstand and recover from climate-related disasters.

Super Typhoon Fun Wong Strikes the Philippines

1. Impact and Scale of the Storm:

• Super typhoon Fun Wong made landfall in northern Aurora Province, Philippines, bringing extreme winds and torrential rain.
• It is considered the biggest storm to hit the Philippines this year, surpassing Typhoon Kamagi.
• Winds reached up to 185 km/h, with gusts up to 230 km/h, battering the northeastern coastal areas.
• The storm caused power outages and forced approximately one million people to evacuate their homes.
• Locally known as Ulan, the superstorm's radius spanned nearly the entire archipelago.

2. Evacuation and Preparedness:

• Communities in Luzon, the country's largest and most populous island, heeded evacuation orders promptly.
• Residents in areas like Katanduanes, a small island province in the storm's path, evacuated due to the threat of flooding and storm surges.
• One resident mentioned storing belongings at higher elevations and seeking shelter at a relative's place due to their proximity to a creek, which often floods during typhoons, with water levels reaching above their heads.

3. Meteorological Warnings and Consequences:

• Meteorologists warned of torrential rains likely to trigger widespread flooding and possible river overflows.
• The superstorm forced the government to suspend recovery efforts for Typhoon Kamagi, which had caused over 200 deaths just days prior.

Vulnerability of the Philippines to Extreme Weather Events

1. Geographical and Socioeconomic Factors:

• Geographical Positioning: The Philippines is situated in the path of storms originating in the Pacific Ocean.
• Poverty: This exacerbates vulnerability by limiting the population's capacity to adapt to increasingly intense and frequent typhoons and to build resilience.
• Cycle of Disasters: Frequent storms hinder recovery efforts, preventing people from getting back on their feet before the next disaster strikes.
• Impacts: Heavy rainfall, landslides, mudslides, and flooding are common consequences.

2. Climate Change and Attribution Science:

• Increased Frequency and Intensity: Attribution science indicates that anthropogenic climate change is contributing to the increased frequency of such storms.
• Future Projections: The Philippines can expect more super typhoons in the future.
• Global Context: These events highlight the immediate reality of the climate crisis, particularly for countries in the Global South like the Philippines, which have contributed less to the problem.
• COP 30: The timing of Fun Wong's landfall coincides with the beginning of COP 30 in Brazil, underscoring the urgency of global climate discussions.

Government Response and Corruption Concerns

1. Government Actions:

• The government is leading evacuation efforts to move people to safer locations and evacuation centers during typhoons.

2. Corruption in Flood Control Projects:

• Widespread Inquiries: Recent months have seen numerous inquiries into blatant and widespread corruption linked to flood control projects.
• Financial Mismanagement: Billions of pesos allocated for these projects have either not been completed or are of substandard quality.
• Irony of Failed Projects: The failure of flood control projects is ironic given the knowledge of climate change's escalating impacts.
• Cost of Corruption: The cost of corruption and failed projects extends beyond financial losses to actual lives lost, as vulnerable people are not protected by inadequate infrastructure.

3. Call for Accountability:

• There is a demand for accountability from the government to protect citizens from worsening storms, which are expected in the short term.
• The need for better support and capacity building for Filipinos to adapt to these storms is emphasized.

On-the-Ground Reporting from Manila

1. Impact of Fun Wong (Ulan):

• Super typhoon Fun Wong (Ulan) made landfall in Aurora Province with winds exceeding 185 km/h.
• Severe Flooding and Storm Surges: Reports indicate severe flooding caused by storm surges as high as 3 meters along coastlines.
• Visible Damage: Debris, houses being swept away, and boats being dragged from shorelines were observed.
• Metro Manila: Forced evacuations were conducted for residents living near creeks and rivers due to the risk of flash floods and landslides.
• Power Outages: Two power outages were reported in Metro Manila.
• Ongoing Storm: Strong winds were audible as Fun Wong traversed northern Philippines.

Notable Quotes

• "We heard the news about the strong typhoon, so we decided to evacuate early. Our belongings are already stored at a higher elevation. Some of our belongings are at my wife's aunt's place while some are on our roof." - Resident describing evacuation preparations.
• "Whenever there's a typhoon, we often come here to take shelter because we live near a creek. When there's a typhoon, our place gets floods and the waters can reach over our heads." - Resident explaining their vulnerability to flooding.
• "Well, the Philippines is geographic geographically positioned in the path of storms that really are born in the Pacific Ocean. But the vulnerability of Filipinos and generally the entire population is really compounded by poverty which affects the people's capacity to be able to adapt to these increasingly intense and more frequent typhoons and to be able to build their resiliency." - Jetano, freelance journalist, explaining the Philippines' vulnerability.
• "Um while not all extreme weather events of course can be immediately attributed to climate change, the latest attribution science already shows us that anthropogenic climate change can result and is already resulting to the increased frequency of these storms." - Jetano, freelance journalist, on the link between climate change and storm frequency.
• "Um what is happening in the Philippines should really be a strong eye openener that the impacts of the climate crisis they are not a far away problem. They are very much a live reality for many communities uh particularly in the global south like the Philippines that have contributed less to this global problem." - Jetano, freelance journalist, on the immediate reality of climate change impacts.
• "So, while the government is of course taking steps to protect Filipinos during the times of these typhoons by leading these evacuation efforts, uh making sure that people are in safer places or evacuation centers um during the the time that the typhoon hits, the fact that flood control projects have failed the Philippines and are continuing to fail Filipinos is really just an irony in the context of the knowledge that climate change will continue to have these devastating impacts on Filipinos." - Jetano, freelance journalist, on the irony of failed flood control projects.
• "So while we want Filipinos to become more supported to be to have better capacity to adapt to these storms, we need to demand we need to be able to demand accountability from the government to protect us in the context of more worsening storms that we will be seeing not in the very far future but in the short term for sure." - Jetano, freelance journalist, calling for government accountability.

Conclusion

Super typhoon Fun Wong (Ulan) has inflicted significant damage and loss of life in the Philippines, highlighting the nation's extreme vulnerability to powerful typhoons. This vulnerability is a complex interplay of geographical location, pervasive poverty, and the escalating impacts of climate change, which are increasing the frequency and intensity of such storms. While the government undertakes evacuation efforts, the effectiveness of disaster preparedness is severely undermined by widespread corruption in flood control projects, leading to substandard infrastructure and a tragic loss of life. The situation in the Philippines serves as a stark reminder that the climate crisis is not a distant threat but a present reality, demanding urgent global action and robust accountability from national governments to protect their citizens.