Malilong: Nature becoming a beast

Thursday, December 22, 2011

THE enormous loss of lives from the floods spawned by typhoon Sendong in Cagayan de Oro and Iligan cities should be enough to convince stubborn residents of the Mahiga creek and other waterways to move to safer grounds. If they don’t, the local governments concerned should forcibly evacuate them without delay.

It is no longer a figure of speech to say that the weather is unpredictable. Nowadays, you see a storm suddenly make a U-turn or pick up speed making it extremely difficult to track it. This was what happened with “Sendong.”

That is why it is imperative that the banks of rivers and creeks be cleared of occupants immediately. It could rain heavily anytime. And then it would be too late.

Mayor Mike Rama should do more than just threaten demolition of the offending houses.

He should do it. As for those who are encouraging the settlers to resist evacuation, they should realize that when bodies start to float, it will all be on their conscience.

***

Eight years ago, at the end of our leadership conference, owners and leaders of Gothong Southern Shipping went on a river-rafting adventure at the Cagayan river. I remember Bob Gothong teasingly asking us to make sure that our insurance policies were current before we descended towards where the roars that sounded so intimidating from a distance were beckoning.

“It rained this morning,” our guide announced after eight of us clambered onto our rubber boat. “You’re going to have a real adventure.”

It never occurred to me that the turbulent waters that had provided us so much challenge and exhilaration for a good six hours would one day turn loose into a monster and cause so much human grief and misery.

Most of the victims, from many accounts, never knew what was coming to them. They were asleep when the rampaging waters came and swept them away. For years, they have lived by the mouth of the river, unmindful of any danger. Typhoons were a rare occurrence in the province so even if the weather bureau had announced that they were in Sendong’s path, it was no reason to be alarmed or to take extra precautions.

But then nature chose to become a beast, dumping volumes of rainfall unto the bald mountains from where water cascaded into the river which swelled in due time. People oftentimes take nature for granted. Then it decides to strike back and we stand no chance.

What appalls me is that many people I have talked with during the last few days are confident that what happened in Iligan and Cagayan de Oro will never happen here because we have no big rivers. That thinking is a perfect recipe for disaster.

If it rains here as heavily as it did in Cagayan de Oro during “Sendong,” do you think the waters will all drop in the ocean because we have no rivers? No, sirs, a lot of them will be dumped onto our mountains or whatever is left of them by subdivision developers.

And because there are no more trees to hold them, the waters will flow freely and wildly into the lowlands, gathering momentum--and rocks, mud and debris-–along the way. They will not follow any pattern because there is no big river. Instead, we will have instant rivers forming everywhere.

I am an alarmist? This was what they also called the team that sought to demonstrate the dangers faced by people living on the banks and in a sandbar, mistaken by residents for an island, by the mouth of the Cagayan river.

I have said it before and I will say it again: those who do not learn from the experience of others will learn it painfully.

(frank.otherside@yahoo.com)