Photo of First Scout Ranger Regiment rescue operation in San Miguel, Bulacan at the height of intense rains caused by Typhoon “Ompong" (PIA file photo)
CALOOCAN CITY, Feb. 21 (PIA) -- The Climate Change Commission (CCC) renews call to strengthen the country’s science-based disaster risk reduction planning to reduce the irreversible impacts of climate change and to mitigate damage from floods, typhoons, and other natural disasters.
The Philippines was ranked fourth among countries most affected by extreme weather events from 2000-2019, according to Global Climate Risk Index 2021 by Germanwatch.
The ranking is said to be attributed to the aftermath of devastating typhoons over the last decades, including Typhoon Ondoy (2009), Typhoon Pablo (2012), Super Typhoon Yolanda (2013), and Typhoon Ompong (2018), which were responsible for the loss of thousands of lives, as well as the massive damage to agriculture and infrastructure. Another factor is the long process of recovering from the previous year’s impacts.