On September 26, 2022, Super Typhoon Karding (international name Noru) made landfall in the Philippines, crashing into the Polillo Islands on the east coast of Luzon, Northern Philippines, and proceeding to sweep through Central Luzon. Karding has already left twelve dead, six missing, and 52 injured as of five days after landfall and is the second super typhoon in one year, following Super Typhoon Odette (Rai), which razed Visayas and Mindanao in December 2021.
The most affected by Super Typhoon Karding include rural poor and landless communities whose livelihoods, housing, and infrastructure have been greatly damaged. Central Luzon’s rice fields have been devastated, with the Philippine Department of Agriculture estimating losses in agriculture at PHP 2.95 billion or $50.4 million, with more than 80,000 farmers and fisherfolk impacted. Rural infrastructure, already crumbling, was hit hard as well. Almost 57,000 houses have been damaged by the storm, leaving 53,000 people displaced, with thousands in temporary housing.
Image Cambodia after a typhoon; Source: Khmer Times
While Karding picked up speed prior to landfall, a video of a rice farmer in Nueva Ecija went viral as he expressed his deep fears and feelings of helplessness associated with weather calamities in rural communities in the Philippines. The event occurred just before harvesting season and will likely plunge tens of thousands of small or landless farmers into poverty as they miss out on the income from an entire growing cycle’s bounty. Agricultural workers are one of the most impoverished sectors of the Philippines and one of the most vulnerable to climate catastrophe. For example, they have, “suffered around 63% of damage caused by extreme weather events,” demonstrating the unequal impact of climate change, which is contributing to the increased severity of typhoons, on communities in the Philippines. Local infrastructure projects and development such as the Kaliwa Dam threaten to erode Luzon’s natural shield from typhoons, such as the Sierra Madre, making typhoons even more deadly and devastating.
Climate emergencies such as Super Typhoon Karding place an additional strain on an already cracking Philippine healthcare system. Less than a year ago, in December 2021, when Typhoon Odette ravaged the Philippines. Due to the displacement and destruction of healthcare facilities, an outbreak of diarrhea broke out in the typhoon’s aftermath. Food insecurity as a result of the disaster also led to widespread malnutrition, already one of the most pressing and pervasive health issues in the Philippines.
Without urgent action, the Philippines is doomed to face increasingly threatening climate and health disasters. The right to health should include not only basic access to healthcare services, but also protection against the ever growing crisis of climate disaster. Let us join together to put an end to the worsening climate catastrophe and uphold the right of all people to health, in the Philippines and across the world.
Bibliography
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