How to weather floods

In 2015, floods displaced or caused other forms of suffering for 21.6 million people in Asia-Pacific, more than the combined number of those harmed by storms, earthquakes, landslides, and extreme temperature in that year.

Floods also wiped out US$11.5 billion in economic assets, and were so common that these accounted for two out of every five disasters that struck Asia and the Pacific two years ago, the latest figures available for the region.

These cold facts from the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for the Asia-Pacific (UNESCAP) were again brought home last Monday, when floods killed at least four persons in the cities of Cebu, Mandaue and Naga. That same day, photographs from Cagayan de Oro showed floodwaters reaching the waists of residents in some communities, as well as the windshields of stuck cars.

Weather forecasts had warned of heavy rain, but what happened was stunning. After all, neither Cebu nor Misamis Oriental belongs to the 10 most flood-vulnerable provinces in the country. And the weather wasn’t even particularly foul.

As of Tuesday afternoon, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) had yet to post on its website an as- sessment of the floods’ effects on some southern provinces. But local governments shouldn’t wait for the NDRMMC’s cue. Among the questions local officials need to ask is whether the warnings about heavy rainfall, issued by both the NDRRMC and the weather bureau, reached the at-risk communities ahead of time.

A longer lead time generated by improvements in weather forecasting is one of the priority items UNESCAP has identified. “Advances in science rarely reach the communities who live along vast river-basins” in the Asia-Pacific whose populations remain the most vulnerable to floods, its report said.

Another priority is shifting from “a response-recovery approach to a risk-sensitive development approach.” This includes replacing outdated drainage and sewage infrastructure, as well as enforcing land use plans and zoning regulations to keep buildings and households out of danger zones.

Because floods respect no political boundaries, all of Cebu’s public leaders need to work together on a flood-prevention and recovery program. They need to communicate to the rest of us what they plan to do and what roles various members of the community must play.