“We never learned.”
This was what disaster scientist Mahar Lagmay said about an evacuation center inundated by floodwaters due to Tropical Cyclone Enteng (international name: Yagi) on Monday, September 2.
Reports said that fire victims of Zapote 3 in Bacoor, Cavite, who were staying in a covered court acting as an evacuation center, had to flee after it was flooded due to the tropical storm.
Based on accounts, floodwaters rose quickly in the area.
The evacuees were unable to salvage some of the relief goods, including sacks of rice, they had been depending on for their daily sustenance.
They have been staying at a covered court in Barangay Talaba 3 after a fire razed their homes nearly a month ago.
The local government of Bacoor said that 600 families or around 2,000 individuals needed to be evacuated again following the flooding.
This was still apart from those who were affected by the flooding of “Enteng.”
Bacoor City Mayor Strike Revilla said they did not expect the floodwaters to reach the evacuation center.
“Hindi po namin na-expect talaga, kahit po kami nabigla. Kahit ‘yung aming mga matataas na lugar… binabaha ngayon,” he said before.
A video of the flooded evacuation center for the fire victims was uploaded on Facebook, where it has reached 1.3 million views, 2,400 likes and reactions, and 4,800 comments so far.
The uploader, Haidee Ocampo, lamented their situation and hoped they would be relocated to a better evacuation site.
Reports said they were quickly transferred to another shelter in Molino 1 in Bacoor.
A screengrab of the video was posted by a news outlet, which caught the attention of Lagmay who criticized the outcome.
“If we put people in evacuation centers that are in hazardous areas, we increase their risk because their exposure to the hazard is certain,” he wrote on the X (formerly Twitter) platform on Thursday, September 5.
“We have been doing this for the longest time and it resulted [in] tragic disasters,” the geologist added.
“The best examples are the evacuation centers of Tacloban during Super Typhoon Yolanda and New Bataan during Super Typhoon Pablo. We never learned,” Lagmay said.
If we put people in evacuation centers that are in hazardous areas, we increase their risk because their exposure to the hazard is certain. We have been doing this for the longest time and it resulted to tragic disasters. The best examples are the evacuation centers of Tacloban… https://t.co/CkwyGVoQx9
— Mahar Lagmay (@nababaha) September 5, 2024
Super Typhoon Yolanda (international name: Haiyan) in 2013 was one of the most powerful tropical cycles recorded in history. It struck the Visayas and killed more than 6,000 individuals.
Another is 2012’s Super Typhoon Pablo (international name: Bopha), which is one of the strongest tropical cyclones to have struck Mindanao and killed over 1,900 individuals.
Meanwhile, “Enteng” left at least 13 people dead and at least seven individuals missing as of Wednesday.
READ: Philippines death toll from tropical storm ‘Enteng’ rises to 13
Heavy rains from the severe tropical storm caused landslides and flash floods, even in areas with high elevation like Antipolo City.
“Enteng” is the fifth tropical cyclone to have entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility.
