Hanna Disha C.

Danzalan
AT-ABM 114

September 26, 2016

Earth and Life Science

Zero casualty in Batanes despite super typhoon

Ferdies onslaught
Published September 19, 2016 4:34pm

The Climate Change Commission has lauded the province of Batanes for recording no deaths even after super
typhoon Ferdie (international name: Meranti) hit extreme northern Luzon last week.
"The fact that no casualties were recorded means that the provincial government did a commendable job in
preparing for the super typhoon," said Secretary Emmanuel De Guzman, the vice chair and executive director
of CCC.
Batanes, particularly its island of Itbayat, was directly in the path of the super typhoon on September 13. The
storm later swept past Taiwan on its way to mainland China, and left eight people dead.
The commission said Meranti was the strongest storm in the Western Pacific since Yolanda hit the Visayas in
November 2013, killing over 6,000 lives.
"Batanes just proved that preparedness saves lives," De Guzman said.
"As an island province of the country, Batanes is exemplary for its preparedness and resilience to strong
typhoons. The rest of the country should learn from the good practices of local communities in Batanes on
climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction," he added.
De Guzman said the LGUs need to apply preventive strategies to reduce the impacts of the changes in
weather patterns and achieve zero casualty during calamities.
"The LGUs, which are at the forefront of response actions, must bring disaster preparedness to an even
heightened level and always aim to have no casualties for future typhoons," De Guzman said.
The CCC has a Communities for Resilience (CORE) program to promote a risk- and science-based approach
to climate change adaptation and mitigation planning among LGUs. NB, GMA News
http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/581943/news/nation/zero-casualty-in-batanes-despite-supertyphoon-ferdie-s-onslaught

Reflection
Knowing Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) as the strongest typhoon that hits the Central
Philippines and killed about 6,000 people in 2013, Super Typhoon Ferdie (Meranti) hit extreme
northern Luzon this month and was considered the strongest storm in the Western Pacific since
Yolanda hit the Visayas in November. It is a good thing that the provincial government did a
commendable job in preparing for the super typhoon for knowing that no deaths were recorded after
the phenomenon. Those previous super typhoons that hit the Philippines made us Filipinos feel
hopeless for the following years to come. But the big question is why our country is prone to
typhoons? Philippines is prone to typhoons because it is geographically located along the Pacific
region near the Equator which is prone to tropical cyclones and storms. On average, the northwestern
Pacific features the most numerous and intense tropical cyclones globally. Therefore, it is more likely
to happen or inevitable to have typhoons in our country.