Close call

Supertyphoon Haima, locally known as “Lawin”, was as strong as advertised; however, because it changed course and headed straight for Northern Luzon, it’s devastating power was diminished went its main body went over land. It also helped that it had to traverse the Sierra Madre mountain range before hitting Ilocos Norte. Haima did devastate parts of Cagayan but it weakened before touching down in Ilocos Norte.

But even in its weakened state, Haima still lashed out at the province. Howling winds and driving rains dominated its presence in the province. But as Ilocos Norte is already typhoon-ready, Ilocanos were better prepared to deal with it. Local governments enforced forced evacuations of high risk areas long before Haima made landfall. The provincial government also cancelled all classes and work a day before the supertyphoon reached the province.

There were still damages; and there was one casualty. But as Haima battered Ilocos Norte, it could have been worse. Kudos, therefore, to the mayors, officials and frontline responders for doing their jobs for this minimized casualties and damages. And even if Ilocos Norte governor Ma. Imelda Josefa “Imee” R. Marcos was out of the country when the supertyphoon hit, she still did a remarkable job of managing the disaster preparation and response via remote control.

This should be the template for future disasters. And as much as we need to congratulate ourselves for being prepared this time around, we should all make sure that we do the same once another natural disaster comes this way again.

 No call

Though damages and casualties were greatly minimized from the supertyphoon, the whole province found itself without any means of stable communication during and after the supertyphoon.

The duopoly of PLDT and Globe could not provide any signal. As such, communications became a huge problem at the height of the typhoon. Sordidly, communications issues continued even after the supertyphoon has left the province and the country.

Relatives of Ilocos Norte residents abroad and in other provinces became anxious as there was no stable means of communications. Even government agencies had trouble responding to emergencies due to the lack of means of communications. The local broadcast media has even resorted to two-way radios to communicate.

This situation showed how inept and mediocre our local telecommunication companies have become. Though the duopoly earns billions annually, both have not seemed to really upgraded their services and have literally left their subscribers holding the empty bag—or in this case signal-less mobile and landline phones.

Even the Ilocos Norte Electric Cooperative has outdone them. The perennially criticized power distribution utility was able to return power one day after the supertyphoon. The telco duopoly however, still has signal issues more than a week after the supertyphoon hit.