The strongest storm the world has seen in four years made landfall in the Philippines on Sunday, devastating Catanduanes Island before moving on to Luzon, the nation’s most populous island. Evacuations may have helped to keep the death toll low, but are nearly 400,000, most of whom are now living in temporary storm shelters. This has raised serious concerns over the spread of COVID-19 in a country already experiencing one of the worst outbreaks in the Asia-Pacific region with cases now over 389,000.
While the Philippines is no stranger to typhoons, reeling from two others in two weeks before Goni, the combination of the pandemic and worsening storms due to climate change has created a very difficult situation for which the country was not adequately prepared.
As the BBC reports, some local officials had already depleted their disaster relief funds trying to combat the pandemic, and evacuation efforts faced challenges in dealing with COVID patients. Indeed, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) warned that “the most vulnerable displaced populations have become even more vulnerable.” Close quarters at evacuation shelters and the closure of at least one region’s testing center due to storm damage does indeed leave many in a precarious situation, especially groups like women and girls, who’s safety in temporary shelter requires special attention from authorities.
Even if the unfortunate situation facing some local governments’ emergency relief funds were not completely avoidable, Goni’s severity is yet another reminder that the Philippines is not adequately prepared for the impacts of climate change. As the Smithsonian Magazine reports, rising ocean temperatures will subject the Philippines to more frequent and stronger storms, with natural barriers like mangrove forests, dangerously deforested in recent years.
With an end to the global pandemic nowhere in sight, leaders in the Philippines face an urgent task. Adapting to the realities of climate change now must be a top priority for a country that is particularly vulnerable to severe weather, but policies must go beyond preparing for the next typhoon. Implementing better disaster warning systems and climate adaption such as improving infrastructure, and as it relates to evacuation, are two important strategies for limiting the impact of future storms. Unfortunately, Goni may be just the beginning of a destructive season for the Philippines and its neighbors. Humanitarian groups are rightly concerned about the onset of La Nina season, which is likely to bring higher than normal rainfall, with the potential for landslides and flooding, and even more displacement. (Smithsonian Magazine, BBC News, UN News)