Rainproofing the future

This past week, Metro Manila and other areas of Luzon were submerged in relentless floods, triggered by successive typhoons and intensified by the southwest monsoon (habagat).

- JOE ZALDARRIAGA

The scenes were heartbreaking and all too familiar: families in low-lying communities forced to evacuate, motorists and commuters stranded for hours, students trudging through floodwaters, and drenched workers waiting endlessly for transportation so they can finally go home to their loved ones.

We are once again faced with a painful and frustrating truth: we are dangerously unprepared and ill-equipped to confront the worsening impact of climate change.

According to the latest report from National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), the combined effects of the habagat and Typhoons Crising, Dante and Emong has claimed at least 30 lives and affected over 1.8 million families. The devastation is widespread: 586 road sections and 35 bridges were damaged, with infrastructure losses estimated at over P7 million. A total of 193 cities and municipalities have been placed under a state of calamity.