Lessons from the floods: An urgent call for reforestation

The heavy rains and widespread flooding recently brought by tropical storms Crising and Emong have once again laid bare the tragic vulnerability of our people and our country to the forces of nature.

- JOSE DE VENECIA JR.

Once more, these deluges have paralyzed communities in parts of Metro Manila and the countryside, recalling the devastation of Typhoon Ondoy in 2009 that submerged cities, displaced thousands of families, and left hundreds dead.

But as we watched recent images of swollen rivers, submerged roads, and families seeking refuge on rooftops, our memory turned back even further — 53 years ago — to the month of July 1972.

At the time, we were a young, first-term congressman representing the Second District of Pangasinan. That year, our nation experienced one of its worst flooding disasters in history. Typhoon Gloring was followed in quick succession by three more typhoons — Huaning, Isang, and Konsing. For nearly a month, torrential rains pounded Metro Manila, Central Luzon, and Northern Luzon, including our home province. Thousands were stranded. Vehicles were swept away. Communities were engulfed in muddy floodwaters. And there was a desperate shortage of food, drinking water, and medicine.