Was the Impact of Typhoon Ondoy an "Act of God" too?
Ondoy came and went, with catastrophy in its wake. Clearly the typhoon itself was an "act of God." But were the damages unpreventable? Not so, says Urban planner and architect Felino Palafox Jr. Palafox said a 1977 World Bank-funded study identified Marikina Valley, the western shores of Laguna de Bay, and the Manila Bay coastal area as among development areas that should prepare for flooding, earthquakes and possible changes in topography. (Source: Yahoo! News Philippines ) Such remark was hard to swallow, given the magnitude of heroism displayed by people to save lives of loved ones and to deliver relief goods to those whose lives were ravaged by the flood. In the light of what could have been done in the last 50 years, were those damages, sufferings, and heroisms totally unnecessary then?