Wazzup Pilipinas!
Typhoon Haiyan, locally known as Super Typhoon Yolanda, left the Philippines in a national state of calamity with at least 2 million families in 44 provinces gravely affected, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC).
The world has united to help victims of the disaster wrought by one of the strongest storms ever recorded. Various relief efforts are helping to alleviate the dire situation. But long-term strategies involving strategic mapping of urban and rural developments are needed more than ever. Learning where and how to adapt to future storms, including surges, in order to minimize the impact of such weather disturbances is key to rebuilding lives, property and infrastructure in the damaged areas.
The numbers reported from the ground up are staggering. Resources depicting the aftermath of the storm surge abound in social media, taken and uploaded by witnesses and survivors in the provinces of Cebu Island, Eastern Samar, Northern Samar, Western Samar, Southern Leyte, Leyte, and Biliran, among others.