ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR III
Typhoon Gaemi, known in the Philippines as Super Typhoon Carina, was a powerful tropical cyclone that impacted East China after severely affecting Taiwan and the Philippines in late July 2024. The third named storm and second typhoon of the annual typhoon season, Gaemi formed as a tropical depression east of Palau on July 19. Owing to favorable environmental conditions, the typhoon intensified and reached its peak with ten-minute maximum sustained winds of 165 km/h (105 mph), and a central atmospheric pressure of 940 hPa (27.76 inHg).
Carina created major damages and inflicted loss of lives and properties. Heavy Rainfall and Flooding: Carina brought intense rainfall to affected areas, leading to widespread flooding. The combination of heavy rain and saturated soil caused rivers to overflow, inundating communities and infrastructure.
Urban areas like Metro Manila faced drainage issues due to inadequate systems, exacerbating the flooding. Carina’s strong winds damaged buildings, homes, and power lines. Coastal regions experienced storm surges, affecting coastal communities and infrastructure.
Now if it can happen in Manila, what stopping the elements of lashing its wrath with us, Eastern Visayas? When Yolanda, wreck havoc and decimated our people and the structures , we knew that it is possible that it may come back again. We knew that it is a clear and present danger. The heavy rainfall triggered landslides in mountainous regions. These landslides disrupted transportation routes and posed risks to residents.
Schools, businesses, and government offices closed during the typhoon, disrupting daily routines. People faced challenges in accessing basic necessities like food, water, and medical supplies.
It is clear that nature and its processes of trimming and pruning the worlds flora and fauna are evident. Further, man is a catalyst for this process to come soon and beat us harder than ever . The environmental degradation through the excesses in plastic pollution and logging creates stronger, harder and wilder weather, we knew that from the PreSchool discussions we had.
Now in Eastern Visayas, we can expect harsher climate realities because of the rampant disregard of our environment, that is similar to Manila in utter disregard of the fact. Manila may be destroying itself, exponentially like a Kamikaze in a hurry, but Eastern Visayas is unaware, at least the people are clueless that its romance with single use plastic is a sure formula for disaster.
Let what happen in Manila be our fair warning, a glimpse of the future.
