What came before Typhoon Ompong

Preparing for a super typhoon begins way before the disaster happens.

The Duterte administration obviously tripped here and might land with its face on mud.

This was the realization that should have been gained by those in disaster preparedness from strong typhoons that have hit the country. But the death toll and property damage from the onslaught of Typhoon Ompong (Mangkhut) over the weekend showed there is still learning to be done.

At the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, a course on disaster recovery management emphasized that risk reduction starts way before the disaster happens. After Typhoon Yolanda hit in 2013 and resulted in some 6,000 deaths and billions of pesos worth of property damage, one would think the government has gained knowledge on how to prepare for a calamity.

Whatever they have learned over the years still appear inadequate in the face of some 50 deaths in Luzon over the weekend from Typhoon Ompong.

President Rodrigo Duterte, in leading an emergency meeting Sunday on the damage caused by the latest typhoon to hit the country, took up the exasperation felt by local government units in balancing audit limitations with the urgent need to provide care and aid to the victims. He said local officials of Ilocos Norte must do what they can, regardless of those audit regulations. This was after Ilocos Norte Governor Imee Marcos complained that COA prohibitions stop her from spending for the typhoon victims.

In Cebu, which luckily was spared by Ompong, disaster preparations before the typhoon included precautionary cancellations of travel by sea or air, suspension of classes in several cities, and the evacuation of families living in dangerous areas. The effectiveness of these precautions cannot be measured immediately because Ompong did not hit Cebu but it is worth noting that several actions were taken to try to mitigate any damage.

Much more remains to be done. A SunStar Cebu report last week cited the approval at council level of some P200 million in disaster risk reduction projects in Cebu province. This amount is part of the P9.8 billion Annual Investment Program approved by the Cebu Provincial Development Council during its third quarter meeting at the Capitol. The P200 million was requested by the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office for next year.

The report said that, of the P200 million proposed, P96 million will be for disaster prevention and mitigation while close to P34 million will be for disaster preparedness. Another P60 million will be allotted for quick response and P10 million will be for recovery and rehabilitation.

The projects have been identified and funded. The best risk reduction move local government units can do at this point is to ensure that those projects get implemented so residents can be protected when the next emergency happens.

In disaster recovery management, there is wisdom in the principle that the work must begin before the disaster strikes.