A volcanic eruption is not a tragedy in itself. Tragedy strikes when people and animals get caught in it. But I heard most people who live in the vicinity of Taal volcano which erupted this week are safe because they managed to evacuate on time. Of course there could me more explosions that could be fatal to both humans and animals. There are reports of continued tremors and fissures occuring around the area. I read that this is a sign that a massive eruption could still happen and could be catastrophic. If that’s the case, then there could be tragic consequences.
A lot of members of the Opposition are calling the event a “tragedy” but, in my opinion, this is not comparable to the catastrophic outcome of the Mount Pinatubo eruption and the Haiyan supertyphoon. Yes, ashes have descended upon farms, houses, and roads and interrupted daily lives, but that is what happens when volcanoes erupt. The government is responding to the best of its ability and available resources. If we call every such occassion a “tragedy” the word will lose its meaning. The Philippines has been struck by deadly disasters many times in the past and these fit the definition of the word tragedy. Japan is hit by earthquakes more often than the Philippines but they don’t whine about it. They consider it part of their lives to remain in a constant state of preparedness.
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Partisan members of the Opposition clearly had a political agenda when they scrambled to slap the “tragedy” label on this recent disaster. This is sloppy thinking and crass partisanism at best. When we criticised former President Noynoy Aquino over his slow response after Yolanda and the massacre of the #SAF44, it was after the fact. The Opposition today criticised and looked for President Rodrigo Duterte even while the natural occurrence was still just beginning to unfold and very little information was coming in as of that time. On the first day of the eruption, they were already judging him.
It seems to me like the Opposition is wishing for a tragedy to happen in the Philippines so they can blame Duterte. They want to paint every issue as being worse than it actually is. Too bad for them. The current government is evidently quicker to respond to emergency situations than the previous Aquino administration.
The loss of livelihood, injury and inconvenience that resulted in this recent phenomenon is a human tragedy, not the volcanic eruption per se. Filipinos should learn from this and from every natural disaster they experience and strive to be vigilant and better-prepared in the future.
In life, things are not always what they seem.
I’m curious about that part as well. How fast is the Duterte government’s response to the recent disasters? The recent earthquake, recent flood, and the volcanic eruption now?
I rarely hear news about the disaster response team. Granted, I rarely visit the television anyways. But back in Aquino admin even I have heard of the news surrounding the shortcomings of the Yolanda response with pinning the blame on the Romualdez family on the side. Given the recent disasters of the current admin I haven’t heard a lot of looting and other desperate chaotic occurrences happening afterwards?
If the disaster response team really does its job, then there really isn’t much to hear about except perhaps the human interest aspect of the event, or the outlying incidents (most of which comes to mind are people refusing to leave and therefore dying in the process).
There’s a tendency to do a lot of finger-pointing and these are the stuff that unfortunately ends up being reported.
Really praying for the situation there and hope that we all come out well and able to rebound.
If those people who want to die in the event of a disaster just like l’d saw a recent news on TV that some of the residents of Agoncillio, Batangas which is now declared a danger zone & doing a hunger strike there in order to demand to our government that they should go back to their town or their “livelihood” would loose it if they’ll be forced to evacuate then this is what a Filipino style harakiri (divine suicide) looks like. An idiotic style of suicide attempt! Only in the Philippines. ?
The correct term is “calamity” or “disaster”.
Taal is just a simple case of people picking the wrong place to set up a country. Why not go for Scandinavian, German, or Irish soil?
Iran’s recent “oops, my bad” moment is what really qualifies as a tragedy (unintentional sin of commission).
On the other hand, Noynoying around while SAF44 heroes were being pulverized to smithereens (when all the Nero-ic guy had to do then was to just lift his little pinky back then) is THE REAL tragedy of omission of epic proportions.
Noynoy must have been so elated with Miss Iran’s missile miss as if it justified his glaring incompetence with “see, even these superior nations make tactical mistakes”, while likely whispering a side note to his seat mate “gee, your hair smells terrific!”
They should distribute a special bundle of freshly printed 500 peso bills (with PNoy’s face added!!!) to the families of those SAF44 victims to at least pacify their hunger for accountability and justice.
“The loss of livelihood, injury and inconvenience that resulted in this recent phenomenon is a human tragedy, not the volcanic eruption per se. SO ARE TYPHOONS, FLOODS AND OTHER NATURAL CALAMITIES. Filipinos should learn from this and from every natural disaster they experience and strive to be vigilant and better-prepared in the future.” FILIPINOS WOULD RATHER BLAME (IT’S MUCH EASIER FOR THEM AND NOT TAKING RESPONSIBILITIES) NATURAL CALAMITIES FOR THEIR MISFORTUNES.
It is Outrageous that the YellowTard opposition, is using natural calamities, as “tragedies”, and blaming it on Duterte, to score political points. People are suffering and we must not use the situation for political purposes…
It is also outrageous, when Lugaw Robredo, use this Taal Volcano eruption, to launch her “press con agendas”, and to have photo opportunities, for political advantage… This only showed how low , they have become to use this natural calamity for political advancement…
We all have to unite to help our fellow Filipinos, get back to their feet. We must put our political differences at the back….we are all Filipinos !
Honestly, the Aquino family who runs the country are nothing but demons. I hope they burn in the Lake of Fire someday.
While I’ve never experienced what a volcanic eruption is like, I know what it’s like to drive through the California fire. One day, while getting home from work, the sky was foggy and there were black smoke as well. Even though our car window was closed, we could still inhale the smoke from the fire. The flames engulfed the trees, the woods, the grass, and more. It was scary experiencing that first-hand.
Filipinos need to be thought how to prepare for a calamity like this. I don’t know whether an n95 mask would work during a volcanic eruption but my uncle told me that we needed those type of masks in case of a fire. They also need a shelter to stay in while the calamity occurs.
I would prefer to describe the repercussions of Taal’s eruption as disastrous or catastophic. For me I associate the word “tragedy” with operas or plays that end in its usual dramatically sad and heartbreaking scenes. However, many lives have, indeed, been drastically affected by the eruption — displaced, shocked, some never able to return. I, myself, have been one of those, though my home and farm are not within the 14 km danger zone, (relatively close) most of my weekly activities were in Tagaytay.
What has always struck me as obviously wrong and serving as a red flag, is the number of residential and commercial establishments so close to the volcano. I am guessing that the average resident or tourist is unaware that Taal Lake is a caldera, and that it, alone, poses a huge threat, making every structure along the ridge, even outside the 14 km zone a potential target for ballistic projectile should the caldera, itself, erupt. Having a geophysics background has given me a deeper insight and knowledge about volcanoes, thus I knew that living near one was quite risky (just like living on a high rise built on reclaimed soil).
But I digress. In response to your statement above regarding the administration’s response, I’ve heard that LGUs have been highly organized in handling the situation, e.g. in terms of organizing and administering medical attention, evacuating residents and distributing goods.
I just hope that people become more aware that there is a huge risk involved in living near an active volcano.