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Showing posts from August, 2012

Lessons from Ondoy

By Joshua Miguel Image Source September 2009, the world witnessed the devastation brought by Typhoon Ketsana (Ondoy) to the Philippines. Said typhoon flooded most parts of Metro Manila and left more than 400 deaths and $1 Billion worth of damages to properties. Aside from the record rainfall unleashed by Ondoy, the massive flooding was also caused by loose garbage that clogged the water channels of Manila. These garbage mostly came from the numerous informal settlers who built illegal residential structures close to the rivers or creeks and who directly threw their wastes directly to the water system. These restricted the natural flow of the river and eventually contributed to its swelling during the onset of Ondoy's fury. The Ondoy incident only showed the unpreparedness of Filipinos and its government if faced by sudden anger from nature. It also highlighted the government's poor urban planning of Metro Manila as seen in its polluted rivers, polluted air, ove