#typhoon pablo

[duranduratulsa]

On this day in 2012...Typhoon Pablo kills over 1,000 people in the Philippines #history #disaster #typhoon #TyphoonPablo #Philippines

[duranduratulsa]

On this day in 2012...the Philippines experiences the wrath of Typhoon Pablo losing over a thousand lives. #history #disaster #typhoon #TyphoonPablo #Philippines #2010s

[photosbyanj]

Because Education is a RIGHT.. One of the imminent problems that Pablo-damaged towns in Davao Oriental and Comval areas are facing right now is the scarcity of classrooms / schools. The typhoon has greatly damaged the area-- leaving no structure standing in its wake. Furthermore, several teachers have also died or have gone missing during the onslaught of the typhoon. Add up to that, many college students, whose families' source of livelihood are in these affected areas, now face the threat of having to drop out of school due to lack of money to sustain their education. I know little on how to come up with funds to support them. However, I wish that by making this post, many would be aware of the present situation in Davao Oriental and Comval and the apparent need of these students. I do hope that we all could lend a hand to help them continue their education or to support them in whatever way possible. Because at a time like this, one needs a helping hand to know that there is still hope left for them who have lost everything they once had. :)

[photosbyanj]

Great Devastation It pains me to see how ruined these towns have become after the wrath of Typhoon Pablo/Bopha in Davao Oriental. With thousands of lives affected or lost and millions worth of property destroyed... I couldn't help but worry about how these towns would rise up again. But then again, until such day that our lives end, we can't just lose hope. Read my blog on this: Typhoon Pablo: Going Back to the Basics"

[redbookreports]

an article in Socialist Worker Canada that puts the effects of typhoon Pablo in its proper context.

Unnatural disaster: super typhoon Pablo kills 1500 in the Philippines

Posted on January 2, 2013

By LD Borromeo

28 people were killed when this elementary school, used as an evacuation centre, was destroyed. (photo: Sonny M. Day)

Southern Mindanao lies outside of the Philippines’ very wide typhoon belt. In 2011, it was hit by a category 5 typhoon which killed approximately 1500 people. On December 4, 2012, it was hit by Typhoon Pablo, another category 5 typhoon. Category 5 typhoons are referred to as super typhoons and have wind speeds in excess of 250 km/hr. The Philippine government now predicts that deaths from this latest super typhoon will once again exceed 1500.

On December 4 the initial death count – wildly inaccurate – was 42; on December 6 it was 322, and on December 21 it was 1050. Much of this is to do with the slow pace of rescue efforts: over 800 people were still missing by Christmas. Meanwhile over 2,400 families -11,680 people – are staying in 43 overcrowded evacuation centers around the country with inadequate access to medical treatment, sanitation, food and water; 711,682 families or 6,243,998 people are listed as “affected” by the typhoon. A large proportion of these casualties come from Southern Mindanao.

Global warming will mean more typhoons in general for a population whose architecture, general infrastructure, and agriculture depends on relatively calm weather. Capital internationally blocks every effort to stop climate change, but it is the poor of the developing world who will be the first to pay the price.

But to understand the severity of the crisis we need to see the context into which global warming enters. The Philippine GDP was $224.8 billion in 2011; the Davao Region – which was particularly hard hit by the typhoon – contributes just over 10.4 per cent to that total. Services are the single largest contributors to this, however mining and agriculture are important as well. Strip mining, logging and intensive agriculture have depleted the forests at the same time as they have marginalized small scale farmers and miners. These industries not only release large amounts of greenhouse gases, contributing to global warming they also increase the severity of floods and landslides by destroying the forest cover. Over the decades, these developments have pulled some out of dire poverty, pushed others into it, and, in general, mirrored the economic inequality typical of Philippine society. Naturally, the families injured by the typhoon are not seeing the wealth that they generated for the Philippines being marshaled for their aid; in fact national development has increased the dangers of “natural” catastrophes without developing a commensurate safety net. This is demonstrated by the fact that a year has passed since the last super typhoon and yet the human cost is the same.

More than this, Mindanao is the site of an extended civil war, and is therefore one of the most heavily militarized areas of the country. Resistance fighters have declared a ceasefire in response to the typhoon, so the issue is not a lack of personnel. The fact that a single organization, the military, is tasked with both oppression and emergency relief is the issue. The military has acted for decades as legal mercenaries for the capitalists – both domestic and international – to clear communities of the Bangsamoro, indigenous peoples and peasants. The New People’s Army – the armed wing of the largest Maoist organization in the country – claims that the government in Manila, with the help of American troops, is using the disaster to further attack the sovereignty of the local population by “monopolizing” aid work with various private organizations ignoring and undermining the local networks.

The inclusion of private organizations here points to another issue: the long term retreat of the state in the period of neoliberalism. There has been a steady pattern of the state abdicating responsibility in every imaginable sector of society from housing to disaster relief. It is therefore unable to provide a centrally funded and coordinated response to catastrophic events and so relies on NGOs and charitable organizations to handle the work according to whatever methods each group deems appropriate (the government is however capable of giving “regulatory relief” to adversely affected banks). This issue is exacerbated and complicated by the government’s inability to work in partnership with the local peoples of Mindanao or to truly recognize their claims to sovereignty – an inability structurally determined by the current needs of Philippine capitalism.

Although the Bangsamoro and indigenous peoples have made some important gains in the past year, the truth is that global warming and the various contradictions of Philippine capitalism are going to conspire to keep the poor of Mindanao – and indeed the rest of the Philippines – vulnerable to similar catastrophes for a long time to come.

[confessionsfromvogue]

Knocking on your hearts so everyone could have a Merry Christmas

Last Dec. 4, 2012, a super typhoon (Bopha, Currently known as Bagyong Pablo here in the Philippines) hits the Southern part of the Philippines. Due to strong flash floods and landslides it has caused death; almost every single family there lost a loved one. The death tolls have increased to 1046 and 844 are still missing.

You’d see destroyed homes thus most Filipino families are homeless. They could not even sustain their human needs, those children were crying because of hunger and thirst but the parents could not do anything since all the clean water and food were washed away.

Here are some photos that happened in the typhoon*Courtesy of Google Image*

For more photos go here

So here I am knocking on your kind hearts to please donate whatever you can give. A dollar, old toys, old clothes, etc. anything. They are still in need of goods such as food, water, and clothing. They need you, they need your help. This is a great gift for Christmas. please make their Christmas happy; please give them hope. 

How to Donate? 

OR via Red Cross

Bank Deposit

Bank accounts for Donations Banco De Oro Peso: 00-453-0018647 Dollar: 10-453-0039482

Metrobank Peso: 151-3-041631228 Dollar: 151-2-15100218-2

Philippine National Bank Peso: 3752 8350 0034 Dollar: 3752 8350 0042

Unionbank of the Philippines Peso: 1015 4000 0201 Dollar: 1315 4000 0090

All Check/Cash for the account of Philippine Red Cross (Swift Codes) Banco De Oro BNORPHMM

Bank of the Philippine Islands BOPIPHMM

Metrobank MBTCPHMM

Philippine National Bank -PNBMPHMM

Unionbank of the Philippines -UBPHPHMM

For your donations to be properly acknowledged, please fax the bank transaction slip at nos. +63.2.527.0575 or +63.2.404.0979 with your name, address and contact number.

In-Kind Donation

Local Please send in-kind local donations to Philippine Red Cross - National Headquarters in Manila. We could also arrange for donation pick-up International 1. Send a letter of intent to donate to the PRC. 2. A letter of acceptance from PRC shall be sent back to the donor. 3. Immediately after shipping the goods, please send the (a) original Deed of Donation, (b) copy of packing list and (c) original Airway Bill for air shipments or Bill of Lading for sea shipments to Philippine Red Cross - National Headquarters c/o Secretary General Gwendolyn Pang, Bonifacio Drive, Port Area, Manila 1018, Philippines. The PRC does not accept rotten, damaged, expired or decayed goods. Though we appreciate your generosity, PRC also discourages donations of old clothes as we have more than enough to go around.

Thank you so much and please help me spread the word! Merry Christmas to you all and may the Lord bless your kind hearts!