The wrath of Yolanda

(photo from internet image search)

It is ironic that typhoon "Yolanda" brought home the reality of climate change to many people by mercilessly destroying their homes. Her message however was not about her fearsome ferocity but that after she left, we can never be the same again.

 Typhoon Yolanda was not just a disruption of our lives. She is the start of a new chapter of living in the time of climate change.

After "Yolanda" we can not go back to the way we were before. We can not do things as we did before. Although the government and the people prepared for her coming, "Yolanda" simply exposed all these preparations as superficial and inadequate.

At the very least Yolanda should jolt us out of our complacency.and force us to rethink the way we deal with nature's wrath. We need a new disaster and post disaster response protocol to guide every one of us from citizens to President.

We need to discard old thinking like the mentality of disaster response as merely a matter of doling out relief goods and disaster victims as being totally helpless. We should consider the potential of disaster survivors not as victims but as first responders who can help the worst affected. What is needed though is a strong ladder of leadership to prevent anarchy and to direct the people's energy. And the leader must have a human face. not a composite of coordinating agencies.When a rung of the ladder is broken, the next higher rung should be ready to immediately take over. Survivors can be mobilized to help clear roads, find and bury the dead, even commandeer available food and material resources around them for orderly distribution. It is unacceptable that looting and anarchy are allowed to happen.

 The military should not just be called to prevent criminality but it should also be tapped to create emergency evacuation camps for disaster refugees where the basic necessities can be found - food, shelter, medical care, communication etc. In the aftermath of a devastating calamity, people need a beacon of authority and order where they can go and regroup when all around them have simply collapsed.

 There are so many other things about the way we think and do things to reconsider, but this can be done maybe at a later time.

Yolanda has shown that climate change is real and it is here. Yet it can not be that only the climate will change. We too should change or perish.