On September 25, Super Typhoon Noru—locally known as Karding—struck several provinces in the northern part of the Philippines, causing widespread damage to farmlands and residential areas in the region. Starting as a low-pressure area forming in the Philippine Sea, Noru underwent explosive intensification and became a super typhoon in less than 24 hours. This marks one of the most rapid intensifications ever recorded in the Pacific basin. These are some stories of the people who survived the ravages of the typhoon.
“We evacuated to my sister-in-law’s house when the winds got stronger”, says Anamarie Rivera, a mother of four, “I was only able to get my kids out…I wasn’t even able to save any of my belongings”, she recalls. Anamarie had just given birth to her youngest daughter when the typhoon hit her hometown of Jaen, Nueva Ecija. Anamarie’s house was made from light materials with a makeshift roof of galvanized iron. In fact, this type of housing is not uncommon amongst impoverished Filipino communities.
Likewise, the home of Priscilla Geverico, an elderly resident from the area, sustained some damages from a previous typhoon. “Back when Typhoon Santi hit, we weren’t able to get our house fixed. So, when Karding came, our house was totally ruined. Most of the walls collapsed since they were made of Hardiflex”, Priscilla recalls, “For a long time now, the storms left big holes in our walls. When the rains come, I try to find what I can to cover it—blankets, sacks, linoleum—anything I can find just to keep our family dry.”
As for those in the agricultural sector, the typhoon devastated the livelihoods of farming communities, notably in Central Luzon. “When the storm came, it completely destroyed our crops”, says Ashley Arante, a third-year Psychology major whose mother worked in the rice fields of Tarlac. “Mama had a hard time finding ways to meet our daily expenses for food, transportation allowance, and lunch money for me and my two younger siblings.
Another Tarlac resident, Catherine Sigua who housed a piggery in her backyard, explained “Our piggery was barely getting by due to the African Swine fever (ASF) outbreak. When Karding made landfall in Tarlac, it not only damaged our pigpens but increased the mortality rates of our livestock. In the end, my boss had to lay us off. He couldn’t afford to repair the damages since he was still trying to recover financially from ASF. Last March 2022, Catherine’s husband was diagnosed with hydrocephalus, which eventually led to a brain tumor that had to be removed surgically; the couple relied on the piggery to help with their expenses.
Fortunately, in times of calamity, communities have never failed to come together and help their neighbors in need. From the most rural of local churches to recognized institutions and international non-profits, help was never far away. Two of these were ACT Alliance through the National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP), which responded to the immediate needs of typhoon victims. But with the typhoon’s extensive collateral damage, these organizations can only do so much.
On average, at least twenty typhoons make landfall in the Philippines every year; five of which are predicted to be destructive. With so many storms hitting the country, the destruction these typhoons cause has unfortunately become a normal occurrence in marginalized Filipino communities—these communities are even being praised worldwide for their resilience and optimism in otherwise hopeless scenarios. The stories of Anamarie, Priscilla, Ashley, and Catherine facing the storms are part of a plethora of stories and struggles of millions of Filipinos against the climate crisis. Their stories are also living testimonies that climate change impacts are not just measured by the strength of the typhoons, but also by their intersectional and lasting effects on vulnerable communities.
According to the Global Climate Risk Index 2021 report, the Philippines is the fourth most vulnerable country to the long-term impacts of climate change. To take this risk seriously, the country must address the loss and damages induced by the crisis, and execute adaptation and mitigation measures toward a people-centered, low-carbon future.
While the Philippines’ contribution to world greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is relatively minuscule compared to the G20, studies show that the country’s GHG emission has increased by 114% from 1990 – 2017 (attributed to its energy and industry sectors). At the national level, the country needs to take genuine steps towards climate crisis mitigation, such as banning systematic practices known to be harmful to the environment (e.g., deforestation, illegal mining and logging, plastic waste pollution) and addressing the vulnerabilities of the poor majority among the Filipino people, while strengthening the adaptation capacities at the local level.
The National Council of Churches in the Philippines believes that the climate crisis must be addressed at a global scale by holding major GHG contributors accountable for the impacts of climate change. The Council believes that the crisis is “a consequence of the historical impact of the patterns of consumption and industrialization by what are now the wealthiest and so-called ‘developed’ nations in the world”. Their steps toward accountability must include relevantly supporting the countries most prone to adverse impacts through climate finance, technology transfer, and capacity building, as well as keeping their own carbon footprint in check.
