Systematic approach needed in government calamity response

As it is still reeling from the serious effects of tropical storm Urduja that ripped through the Visayas and Southern Luzon, the country found itself bracing for another weather disturbance hovering over Mindanao, which is rarely hit by typhoons.

But tropical storm Vinta proved to be more deadly than Urduja when it battered several provinces in the south, unleashing severe floods and landslides, a scene reminiscent of typhoon Sendong's onslaught that submerged Cagayan de Oro City in 2011.

As of yesterday, at least 250 people were killed while dozens were still missing, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council. The government has yet to assess the damage to infrastructure and farmlands. But it will surely reach billions of pesos.

While the harm brought by Vinta dwarfed that of Urduja, the two storms did bring untold damage to the country. Aside from the human toll, the huge costs of government infrastructure and farmlands destroyed by the two storms are unimaginable.

As they begin to feel the effects of the two calamities, the need to pick up the pieces and move on has proven to be the hardest part for the thousands of victims. With limited resources, they badly need assistance from the government to get back on their feet.

The problem is that the government has always been slow in its response. In the absence of a systematic approach, it would take several days, even weeks or months, for relief assistance from various agencies to reach calamity victims in far-flung areas.

A case in point was the sluggish recovery in some areas in the Visayas devastated by supertyphoon Yolanda four years ago. Until now, these areas have yet to fully recover because rehabilitation efforts since the previous administration remain slow.

We do hope the government has learned a lesson or two from the previous calamities and is now more responsive to the needs of the victims of Urduja and Vinta. In any disaster, any immediate response from authorities can definitely prevent further human and property losses.