Preparedness as a national mindset

At the start of November, the Philippines was battered by two consecutive typhoons, striking just days apart and leaving a trail of devastation. Typhoon Tino (Kalmegi) brought landslides and floods across the Visayas, claiming more than 200 lives. Before the country could recover, Super Typhoon Uwan (Fung Wong) followed - a storm so massive it captured global headlines and drew renowned storm chasers to document its impact.

- JOE ZALDARRIAGA

Typhoon Uwan ripped through Luzon with relentless force. Torrential rains sent walls of mud cascading down hillsides into residential areas. In other neighborhoods, fast-moving flash floods destroyed homes in minutes.

As of this writing, families are struggling to piece their lives back together, and the full extent of the damage remains unclear. But the images we see on news reports and social media tell an all too familiar, heartbreaking story: dozens dead including helpless children, homes flattened, farmlands submerged, roads washed out, and livelihoods swept away by floods and landslides.

One thought that comes to mind upon seeing the magnitude of the damage left by typhoons Uwan and Tino is this: Why is it that year after year, despite decades of experience with monster typhoons, our country remains pitifully unprepared?

This is not just about climate change, it is also a matter of governance and foresight. The failure to plan and invest in resilience is costing us more than property, it’s costing us futures. The storms will keep coming, given the location where the Philippines is in. But for me, the real disaster lies in our failure to demand accountability and our inability to learn and act.