An environmental crisis

Several years ago, a freak flood inundated Ormoc City in Leyte. There was little time to flee -- many of the coastal city's residents were still asleep. When the flood subsided, more than 4,000 people lay dead. The flooding was eventually traced to the city's denuded watersheds, but no illegal logger was ever made to account for the deaths. And the tragedy did not stop illegal loggers and their coddlers from further reducing the country's depleted forest cover.

Since last week, heavy rains have triggered flash floods that continue to inundate several provinces in Mindanao. Disaster officials said that as of yesterday, the floods and landslides had claimed 18 lives and driven more than 40,000 people from their homes. Several people remain unaccounted for. The floods also damaged bridges and roads and destroyed crops including rice and corn. Disaster officials blamed the flooding on the denuded hillsides of Mindanao. The depleted watersheds contributed to the heavy siltation of rivers -- another cause of flooding. Just two to three days of continuous rains can trigger such deadly floods, according to disaster officials.

For years environmental groups have been raising an alarm on the country's rapidly dwindling forest cover. Illegal logging, slash-and-burn farming and development have destroyed much of the country's forests. The signs of destruction are hard to miss: scorched earth, balding hills, heavily silted bodies of water that overflow in the briefest downpour. The destruction of natural habitats has also led to the extinction of certain species, with a number of others on the endangered list.

With this latest disaster, there will be some noise about intensifying the campaign against illegal loggers in Mindanao. But a death toll of 18 may be too low to discourage those who make a living out of destroying vital watersheds. Illegal logging is lucrative, few people get caught, and no one is prosecuted for the deadly floods that result from heavily logged hillsides. This is an environmental crisis that calls for immediate government attention.