Eureka!

By February 10, 2014Opinion

Build Cities to Survive Storms

MASLOG

By Crispin C. Maslog

 

AS the Philippines slowly recovers from the knockout punch from Super Typhoon Yolanda, described as the world’s most powerful typhoon ever to make landfall, there should be no more debate on whether global warming is here.

The storm that flattened about 90 per cent of Tacloban, severely damaged scores of other cities and towns in its path, killed over 6,200 people, sent more than 1,800 missing, and injured more than 25,000, can be can be blamed on climate change.

There is no room for further debate over whether climate change is really happening. There is already enough evidence from scientific research that global warming is increasing and is caused by humans. There is sufficient proof to show that global warming has caused ocean waters to rise and weather patterns to change, threatening Pacific island nations as well as South-East Asian countries.

The debate should now focus on what nations can do to slow global warming, who should foot the bill and how to prepare for the catastrophes that climate change will bring. Various things can be done in our country.

First, as soon as the relief and rehabilitation efforts for central Philippines in the wake of Haiyan have stabilized, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the Pacific Islands Forum should organise a climate change summit for the region’s environment ministers and leaders to discuss the lessons learned from the Philippine experience.

One issue to examine would be how we adequately prepare for extreme weather calamities such as super typhoons that annihilate everything in their way — not only people and infrastructure — but also the local economy and local governments. Such catastrophes are even more devastating for small Pacific islands.

Second, the Philippine government should seriously consider rebuilding destroyed cities on safer ground. Most cities in the country and across South-East Asia, such as Tacloban and, for that matter, Manila and Cebu City, and Bangkok in Thailand, lie near the coast where they are more vulnerable to storm surges and rising sea levels. Tacloban and other ravaged cities should be rebuilt on higher ground.

Third, urban planning should be used to build smarter and more-resilient cities. Among other things, a smarter city is one with stronger, weather-resistant buildings. Achieving this would mean waterproofing power and communication lines by putting them in tunnels underground.

Smarter cities also mean effective urban design and innovative practices that include “improving basic infrastructure such as communications, water and energy supplies with emphasis on shifting to more appropriate technologies and renewable energy sources”.

Smarter cities, in the words of these planners, also means developing a smarter environment that “focuses on more prudent utilization of natural resources and the promotion of more conscientious practices such as the construction of green buildings and disaster risk management for enhanced sustainability”.

Two types of technologies deserve special attention for local governments and other agencies involved in the rebuilding process—solar power and rain harvesting. These are especially appropriate in the Philippines where there is an abundant supply of sunlight and rain which just go to waste after each storm.

We can start tapping solar power in earnest. We have 300 days of sunshine in a year and solar technology is already here to light the homes, yards and streets. While  solar power is still slightly more expensive than fossil power, many countries have subsidized the installation of solar panels in the homes.

We can do the same thing in the Yolanda affected areas of Tacloban and the rest of the Visayas. These solar panels can be financed by foreign aid for our rehabilitation efforts.

Another technology to consider is rain harvesting. We have at least six months of rainy days in most parts of the country. And we already have a rain catchment law which mandates rain catchment devices in the homes and public buildings, like water tanks, and catchment infrastructure in the communities, like ponds and small dams. It is time to enforce this law, starting with the devastated areas of the Visayas which we are rebuilding.

Rainwater harvesting provides an independent water supply and will supplement the main supply, which comes from groundwater and small lakes and rivers.

Smarter cities harness the power of technology to run and deliver efficient, modern public services. We must retool for tomorrow’s deadly storms and ensure that future storms don’t destroy these services.

As the Chinese proverb says, every crisis presents danger as well as an opportunity. Out of the crisis brought about by this storm, we have a huge opportunity to rebuild vulnerable cities in the region into model cities of the future. We can start with Tacloban. ###

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*Crispin Maslog, a former journalist, communication professor and environmental activist, now writes a monthly science column for SciDev.Net, a London-based science communication website. This article has been produced by SciDev.Net’s South-East Asia & Pacific desk.

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