Phl faces challenges posed by climate change

As the Philippines braces for three weather disturbances this week, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said the government is struggling to find a “balance” between rebuilding affected areas and preparing for the worst.

“It becomes a little complicated because, generally speaking, when a storm passes through we identify the damage, what are the repairs that are needed to be done, so we fix them first,” he told reporters in an interview.

Marcos expressed concern that if the government begins repairing and rehabilitating affected areas now, any subsequent storms that follow the same paths could render those efforts pointless.

“This is the tightrope that we are trying to navigate,” he said.

“We don’t have a textbook to follow. We don’t have a template to follow. It is climate change and it is a new reality that we are having to face,” he added.

The President noted that communities affected by typhoons urgently need water and electricity to begin rebuilding. He said this was the first time he has seen three tropical cyclones expected to enter the country simultaneously.

“I’ve been around for a long time — I don’t remember seeing these many [strong storms],” he said.

“The first one may be strong and then there is another one, there is a little bit of wind. But not like this, storms are really strong. And then there is one after the other, we were not even given a week,” he said.

According to the weather bureau PAGASA, severe tropical storm “Nika” weakened as it moved northwestward over the West Philippine Sea on Tuesday morning.

As “Nika” exits the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR), “Ofel” (international name “Usagi”) has entered the PAR. It is forecast to traverse Cagayan Valley, Catanduanes, Batanes, Quezon, Camarines Norte, the northern portion of Camarines Sur, Isabela and the northern part of Aurora in the days ahead.

Marcos said the government is prepared to respond to calamities, with the agencies concerned pre-positioned along the path of “Ofel.”

“This is what we are monitoring now. We’re trying to see what the damage is, that we have to go in already,” he said. “And just trying to keep watch, making sure that everybody’s safe. We have done some initial evacuations already. So, we will just try to stay safe,” he said.