EDITORIAL - Priority for the year

The year ended with holiday merriment tempered by the continuing misery of thousands of people in the flood-stricken areas of Mindanao. The devastation caused by the flashfloods spawned by tropical storm “Sendong” capped a year that saw rare natural catastrophes, including a storm surge in Manila Bay that destroyed the sea wall and submerged Roxas Boulevard in several feet of water.

Rare, extreme weather was not unique to the Philippines in 2011. Japan suffered its worst tsunami following a powerful earthquake in March, while Thailand still has to recover from over a month of flooding that inundated even the capital Bangkok. Tens of thousands died from the worst drought in 60 years in southeastern Africa.

The year opened with a landslide triggered by incessant rains outside Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, which left 800 dead and 400 missing. In the same month, the northeastern United States saw up to 20 inches of snow in what was dubbed as the “snowpocalypse.”

The next month, a 6.3 magnitude earthquake killed over 180 people in Christchurch, New Zealand. From April to May, a “tornado outbreak” swept five US states, leaving up to 480 dead and hundreds more injured. July saw Phoenix, Arizona being battered by a “haboob” or dust storm up to 10,000 feet high.

New York City, once believed to be safe from earthquakes, was rocked by a 5.9 magnitude quake in August, together with Washington and the rest of the eastern seaboard. Later in the month, Hurricane Irene battered New York. In October, 600 people died in eastern Turkey when it was struck by a 7.2 magnitude quake. Later in the month, New York City was again a disaster area, with power knocked out in two million homes by a freak snowstorm.

The disasters have prompted many of the affected countries to review their preparedness for dealing with such emergencies. This also happens after every major disaster in the Philippines, but somehow the country never seems to be properly prepared for the next one. After the deadly floods spawned by Sendong, the government must see to it that this will no longer be the case. Improved disaster preparedness must be given high priority in 2012.