When disaster relief coordination IS the Disaster
Photos from What are we doing to our planet? in Ohlala.
What have we learned from the cataclysm of this weekend, besides the speed at which our lives can turn into a schlocky Roland Emmerich movie?
We have learned that when it comes to matters of life and death, we cannot count on the national government. (Local government units did the best they could, but they needed help from the national government.) If we cannot count on the government to deliver basic services or rescue our citizens in times of calamity, and we stopped expecting official honesty and integrity years ago, what exactly is government for? (First official to say, “But we weren’t expecting something that bad” needs a little Marikina-Cainta flood waterboarding.)
We have learned that disaster strikes all demographics and that famous people can also sit on the roof awaiting rescue, but as always it is the poor who suffer the most. We have learned that everyone who’s anyone blathers on about saving the environment, fighting climate change, and not using plastic bags, but all that amounts to is a pool of drool that only makes the floodwaters rise.
We have seen where our taxes went. . .no, where the hell did they go? We have learned that mobile phones are a convenience in ‘normal’ times but we cannot count on them working When We Really Need Them. The fucking signal just goes pffft.
The main lesson is: We’re going to have to save ourselves.
The Good Ideas Forum was canceled due to cataclysm but we can still use our heads. 1. Now that we know how fast and how bad the situation can get, every barangay needs to have a disaster preparedness program. For starters, every barangay needs to have those rubber boats.
Answers to questions you might be asking, unless you wandered onto this site purely by accident >>>
September 28th, 2009 at 20:00
Emmerich the Godzilla director? Parang ganun nga. Whitespace transformed itself into a dropoff point of donations. Good Actions Center ngayon ang whitespace, in the future mayroong Good Ideas Forum duon. That is Good.
September 29th, 2009 at 03:26
Word.
What bothers and sickens me right now is that a few politicians have had the gall to use this for free publicity, what with their food donations marked with “Tulong ni _____” or their volunteers (?) wearing t-shirts displaying their names oh-so-crassly.
Of course, the sad thing is, we’ve probably come to expect that, too. Jaded, but true.
September 29th, 2009 at 08:42
ginahasa natin ang inang kalikasan at patuloy na ginagahasa, and wonder why this happened. tragedy like this will happen again many times over
September 29th, 2009 at 13:07
Any suggestions on how to save books (e.g. proper water proofing, or plastic container?) in case of “overwhelming” floods? I was thinking of something like heavy-duty rubberized bookcase which will float and can be used as… er, salbabida…
September 29th, 2009 at 14:42
all the government can do is call for a press conference. as if that can do anything. we can’t really rely on them in time of need! what has happened to this country? let’s just hope that when a tragedy like this happens again, we will be prepared ourselves. maybe we can just help our neighbors and not rely on the government.
September 30th, 2009 at 21:55
still,props to the NDCC for doing what it does best:count dead bodies, the number of evacuees, the number of affected population and the number of persons rescued. No, their actual job does not involve preparing for the worst of the worst. NDCC motto should then be: Rescue, yes! Prepare, no.
See NDCC’s site where it says:
A well-prepared population. –!!well-prepared for 2010 yes!
A safe nation. —– !!! yes, most use condoms.
Because d country is more prepared for 2010 than the yearly onslaught of rain.
Just as it is not PAGASA’s job to tell accurate weather. It’s job is to merely – and accurately so – predict the time the sun sets and when the sun will rise. Experience says that whatever PAGASA predicts, the oppposite always happens.
September 30th, 2009 at 22:00
& thats why im not voting for anyone ever.
not even for bgy captain — because Kapitan barbel here in our barangay spend his time & energy renting videoke machines- & then singing- every time it’s someones bday. as well as okay-ing jumpers in electric posts-which almost caused a fire in our area last year.
because it’s every man,woman & child for himself in this here city.
p.s.
i am also a happy non-taxpayer.