Would you blame nature’s upheaval resulting to loss of lives and properties when you have the ways to save yourself beforehand? Or you would simply hold on to your dear life when natural hazards are approaching few kilometers away?
People tend to point their fingers to the environment after a literally breathtaking catastrophe — probably asking Mother Earth what made them deserve such a mishap. Consequently, our human instinct would make us sympathize but realization and studies would tell you that it is humanity’s doing which exacerbates the damage brought by inevitable natural hazards.
Globalization. Urbanization. Competition. These are the general factors induced by the Earth’s inhabitants that act as catalysts between humans and the course of nature. During these processes, humans lose control in creating a technologically-advanced world as they put nature’s welfare at stake. Progress is surely for our development as we continuously adapt with the fast changing and inflating society. We, on the other hand, seem to overlook the importance of nature that enables us to survive and thrive.
Usually, trees are the first thing that rings in our minds as we say nature; and how is our agricultural system helping to reduce the natural disaster and mitigate its impact? Deforestation is nevertheless causing a great impact on global warming and to the destruction of animal habitats. In addition, it also disrupts the water cycle as it is responsible for extracting groundwater from the earth and returning it in the atmosphere —and that affects the water cycle balance.
Air Pollution has increased exponentially since industrialization and smoke-emitting technology were invented and extensively used everywhere. Similar to deforestation, air pollution contributes to global warming as it has cumulative effect in the average global temperature the Earth is supposed to maintain.
Deforestation; engineering of rivers, riverbanks, and other bodies of water; shaping the fields into subdivisions and cities; improper waste management and filling in wetlands; as well as undermining the climate bring forth more than strong winds and gigantic waves as we unknot the threads of multifaceted ecological havens. That in no time will add up to the cannon of disaster right after natural hazards come our way. Unfortunately, most of the times, disasters wipe places out and leaves nothing but the remains of once was a paradise.
Measures are established as development choices are made and fulfilled each day. We have the opportunities to avoid foreseeable disaster impacts. But what is happening is that we alter so many natural systems to the extent that we disregard nature’s ability to keep us safe from its own wrath. We’ve been told hundreds of times that natural hazards are acts of nature and what comes after that are adversities we, especially the poor ones, could barely shield ourselves from. Its impact falls extremely on them who live in vulnerable areas and has few, if not totally none, resources to prepare for or recover from calamities.
Disasters are also the result of negligence and reckless development — poor design and construction of buildings and establishments hidden in deceivingly well-built façade but doesn’t assure capacity to withstand earthquakes, alleviate the bearings of floods and survive typhoons. There are engineers and scientists who have capacities to avoid disaster, reduce its risks, and come up with smart solutions for the betterment of people but we know that it has a price. It, being affordable for everyone everywhere is far from possible. So, it turns out that what should be obligatory becomes elective — setting aside the idea of what might happen as natural occurrences arrive.
Economic factors, insufficient protection of assets and resources, lack of public information and awareness, especially of those who live in isolated, far-flung areas are other causes of hazards turning into disaster. These could determine or assess how much impact a happening could make to a certain place. Furthermore, disaster risk reduction should be sustainable as it includes preparedness, management and improvement in their respective areas. The management should be well- handled and it is a must to have maps of every place within the vicinity, particularly for evacuation centers. These temporary settlements must not only be the safest place but should also guarantee the safety of evacuees and that the basic needs are amply met.
Choices are given to us long way before any hazard could occur. It is in our hands how not to only reduce but rather prevent a hazard to becoming a disaster that would make our country suffer. Disaster risk reduction doesn’t and will not happen overnight. We could choose to take care of our environment by how we live our lives and do the most that we can to improve our surrounding; build skyscrapers and balance it with extensive reforestation, dynamic farming and wildlife protection. Natural hazards are followed by ‘natural’ disaster and that disaster, though called natural, isn’t only nature’s doing. For nature could harm us to an extent but it is us who pull the intensity lever of the disaster way beyond what nature does.
References:
Cooper Resabal.(December 04,2016).Education and Folk Beliefs Lessen Vulnerability to Disasters. Retrieved from https://www.verafiles.org/articles/education-and-folk-beliefs-lessen-vulnerability-disasters
Martin Ras.(May 18,2017).Natural disasters don’t exist but natural hazards do. Retrieved from https://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/blog/2017/5/18/Natural-disasters-don-t-exist-but-natural-hazards-do.html
Leo Lin.(November 22,2017).Preparing for Disaster in the Philippines. Retrieved from https://thediplomat.com/2017/11/preparing-for-disaster-in-the-philippines/
UNDRR.(n.d.).What is Disaster Risk Reduction. Retrieved from https://www.unisdr.org/who-we-are/what-is-drr
By: Mildred N. Montañez |Teacher II |Tortugas Elementary School |Tortugas, City of Balanga
