‘Ursula’ unites Ilonggos

“Human misery must somewhere have a stop; there is no wind that always blows a storm.”

—Euripides

By Alex P. Vidal

IT has been proven once again that typhoons respect no season; they can lash at any city and province in any occasion, including the most precious Christmas Day.

Death and destruction became the order of the day when “Ursula” struck hard just when everyone was celebrating the birth of Jesus, the son of God in the Christian community.

It united the Ilonggos, among those badly affected in the Visayas area, even if their noche buena and actual celebration of Christmas Day had been interrupted and ruined.

Assistance poured in from fellow Ilonggos in other provinces and overseas as soon as it became known that “Ursula” nearly equalled the ferocity of “Yolanda”, one of the most destructive super storms to hit the region many years back.

 “Ursula”, named after the popular Swiss actress Ursula Andress, now 83, was out in the West Philippine Sea, 300 kilometers northwest of Coron, Palawan, or 295 km west-southwest of Subic, Zambales, as of 4 p.m. December 26. 

It reportedly moved toward Vietnam at 15 km per hour with winds of up 120 kph and gusts of up to 150 kph, weaker than winds of up to 140 kph and gusts of up to 195 on Christmas Day.

Confirmed killed in villages and towns in central Visayas, as of this writing, were at least 20 people mostly in Panay island. Most of those killed were due to drowning, falling trees and accidental electrocution, according to disaster officials.

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We’ve been told not to do the following during the strong typhoons:

Don’t tape windows. Tape does almost no good — and it’s a mess to remove;

Don’t open a window away from the wind direction. Any opening can allow wind inside the home, and the wind can shift;

Don’t go near windows or glass patio doors during a storm;

Don’t empty an in-ground pool. The water table can rise from the rain and force the pool up, perhaps out of the ground;

Don’t use candles for light if the power goes off. The danger of fire is too great;

Don’t use a charcoal or gas grill to cook indoors;

Don’t approach animals wandering after the storm. Even docile pets can be unnerved by a storm and could bite;

Don’t connect a generator directly to your home’s electric system. It can electrify lines outside and endanger neighbors and utility workers;

Don’t drive through moving water over a road. Even six inches of flowing water can cause a car to float;

If returning after an evacuation, don’t stay in the house if you smell gas. Open windows and leave;

Don’t let your pets out after the storm without a leash. With landmarks gone, they can get lost and perhaps encounter displaced wild animals.

Don’t sightsee in damaged neighborhoods;

Don’t stay after an evacuation is ordered. Rescue workers will not try to reach you at the height of the storm;

Don’t bring guns, alcohol or pets to a public shelter;

Don’t touch metal fences after a storm. They could be touching downed power lines.

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A day after “Ursula” annihilated Panay, Mindoro, and other nearby islands, a powerful tremor hit Iloilo.

In fact, more Ilonggos posted their reactions to the quake in unison in the social media than they did during the “Ursula” carnage.

A strong typhoon followed by an earthquake shifted our attention to the Climate Change.

According to the Science For A Changing World, these are some of the signs of the Climate Change:

— Temperatures are rising world-wide due to greenhouse gases trapping more heat in the atmosphere.

—Droughts are becoming longer and more extreme around the world.

—Tropical storms becoming more severe due to warmer ocean water temperatures.

—As temperatures rise there is less snowpack in mountain ranges and polar areas and the snow melts faster.

—Overall, glaciers are melting at a faster rate.

—Sea ice in the Arctic Ocean around the North Pole is melting faster with the warmer temperatures.

—Permafrost is melting, releasing methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, into the atmosphere.

—Sea levels are rising, threatening coastal communities and estuarine ecosystems.

Scientists have predicted that long-term effects of climate change will include a decrease in sea ice and an increase in permafrost thawing, an increase in heat waves and heavy precipitation, and decreased water resources in semi-arid regions.

Scary indeed.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo)