With 'Uwan' on the horizon, vigilance must match compassion

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said it best: "If we anticipate well and we prepare well, marami tayong nagagawa para mas mabawasan ang effect (we can do much to lessen the impact).

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The President's words, spoken at a briefing two days ago, capture both the anxiety and the determination now gripping the nation as another powerful storm—Typhoon Uwan—threatens to make landfall early next week.

Barely days after Typhoon Tino left a trail of devastation across the Visayas and Mimaropa, claiming at least 188 lives and 135 others missing, the country is now bracing for what may become a super typhoon. The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) reports that Severe Tropical Storm Fung-Wong, to be named Uwan upon entering the Philippine Area of Responsibility, has intensified rapidly and could reach super typhoon category by Saturday. With a massive rainband spanning up to a thousand kilometers, it is expected to drench much of Luzon and Visayas, and possibly make landfall over Northern or Central Luzon by Monday.