Two tropical cyclones recently struck the Philippines one after the other, leaving at least 146 people dead, according to government reports.
The country first felt the peak intensity of Severe Tropical Storm Trami (local name Kristine) on Oct. 24. The storm maintained sustained winds of up to 95 kilometers per hour (59 miles per hour) and gusts of up to 115 kph (32 mph) at its peak. It caused widespread flooding and landslides, especially in parts of the Luzon group of islands, home to the country’s capital, Manila.
While Trami was far from the most destructive storm to strike the Philippines, it triggered heavy rainfall that caused flash floods and mudslides, leaving many families trapped in their homes and communities.
After Trami blew out to sea, Typhoon Kong-Rey (local name Leon) entered the scene, intensifying into a super typhoon and pummeling the northern provinces of the country from Oct. 28-30. At its peak, Kong-Rey had maximum sustained winds of 195 kph (121 mph) near the center and gusts of up to 240 kph (149 mph). The strong winds caused high waves and storm surges that damaged houses.
The latest report by the Philippines’ National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) shows that the two cyclones affected 8.6 million people, or at least 7% of the country’s population. More than 740,000 people were forced to flee their homes and seek refuge in evacuation centers or with family and friends.
At least 146 people have reportedly been killed, 130 injured and 20 still missing from the back-to-back storms. Nearly 800 roads and around 100 bridges were deemed not passable at one point, while more than 300 cities and towns experienced power outages.
Renato Solidum, the secretary of science and technology, said the devastation wrought by Trami showed that climate change can no longer be considered “a hoax.”
“Its effects are tangible, and there is no more important time to stress this than today — that we’re going to reap what we sow, and we hope that we sow good seeds from now on, for us, for our children, and for our children’s children, for the next generations to not experience the same magnitude of disasters that we have faced in recent times,” he said at an event.
“We have developed and are still continuously progressing at the expense of our environment,” he said, adding that disasters are caused by “human choices, by our action, and by our inaction.”
Following Kong-Rey’s devastation, Greenpeace reiterated its call for the Philippine government to “demand payment for loss and damage from fossil fuel companies, and lead the call for a fossil fuel phase out.” The Philippines is the current host of the U.N. Loss and Damage Fund Board, which is designed to provide financial assistance to countries that are vulnerable to the effects of climate change.
Banner image of Super Typhoon Kong-Rey via PAGASA.
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