Live in the Philippines

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Is SE Asia Damned?

Weather / by

So far, this has not been a good Century for SE Asia.  Yes, we are only 9 years or so into the 21st Century, but the events in SE Asia have not been promising so far.  This past week or two have been particularly bad.

Over this past weekend, Typhoon Pepeng, Internationally known as Typhoon Parma, has been playing it’s games in Northern Luzon.  While it had been predicted to cut across the very northern tip of Luzon and then cut north and head toward Taiwan or possibly Japan, Pepeng has actually moved across the northern part of Luzon and basically stalled out and is sitting there just dumping rain and whipping up some serious winds for our friends in the North.  Word from Philippine weather authorities now says that Pepeng may actually make a move to the south, and then turn around and cross Luzon again!  Flooding and wind damage could be quite severe and leave dual paths across Luzon.  What a mess!

Other events have occurred over the past week that have also devastated other parts of SE Asia as well.  Indonesia has experienced another major earthquake, on the island of Sumatra.  Right now, it is not possible to give a final count of the dead in Sumatra, but already more than 1,100 have been confirmed dead.  Estimates I’ve heard on the news say that another 2,000 or so will likely be added to the confirmed dead by the time we know the whole story.

Truth is that Indonesia has had a lot of major earthquakes in the past 5 years or so.  In 2004, Indonesia had it’s first big quake of the 21st Century, followed by the Boxing Day tsunami, which left a minimum of 250,000 dead in a matter of minutes.  Some people say that the dead is closer to 500,000, although numbers that big cannot be confirmed.

A week ago, Manila was hit by Tropical Storm Ondoy, which left severe flooding and up to 300 dead in Metro Manila.

It would appear that much of the 21st Century SE Asian troubles have focused on Indonesia, though.  In addition to a number of severe earthquakes, landslides and tsunamis in Indonesia, the country has also experienced several bad airplane crashes during the century so far.

In addition, the Philippines and Indonesia have had a rash of ferries that has sunk, killing hundreds so far in the century.

What is going on in SE Asia?

Is there any other part of the world that has had anywhere near the number of disasters that SE Asia has witnessed in the 21st Century?  If so, I know of none.

Of course, this part of the world sits directly on the Pacific Ring of Fire, and it would appear that we are really entering into an active timeline for the Ring of Fire too.

What other kind of problems has SE Asia experienced this century?

The Bird Flu started out here, and hundreds in SE Asia perished as a result.  SARS also originated in SE Asia.

So, it’s been an eventful century so far in SE Asia.

I moved to SE Asia in May 2000.  I’ve been luck that so far, although I have experienced a few such “exciting incidents,” I have been spared any of the carnage, as has my family.  About the most exciting such event that we experienced was a 7.2 Earthquake that woke us up on January 1, 2002, when we lived in General Santos.  Although I have been in many earthquakes over the years, that was one heck of a scary event, I assure you.  Over the past 9+ years of living here, we have probably lived through 2 or 3 dozen earthquakes, but other than the one biggie, they have all been small, 4.5 or under.  We have also had several incidents where there were bombings not so far from where we were while living in General Santos.  Other than that, our lives in the Philippines have remained fairly quiet.

If you look at the stats, though, during the past decade, SE Asia has certainly experienced more than it’s fair share of disasters – natural or man-made.  For us, life has gone relatively un-touched, though.  What do you think?  Is more trouble down the road for SE Asia, or will things calm down in the coming years?

Are you afraid to live in the Philippines, or other parts of SE Asia?  For me, I am not worried about living here, compared to living in any other part of the world.  As I am sure will be pointed out in the comments, bad things can happen anywhere.  I feel that SE Asia has experienced more than normal this Century, but we just can’t know what the future will bring.

Any guesses?

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Bob:
    I don't think that more happens here than in other parts of the world… Because you live here, you are exposed more to goings on in this region and hear more about it on the news. (In the States, there was Katrina, the WTC bombing, countless fires in the West, and floods, along with drought). The international media tend to report after a calamity, and then move on, whereas the local and regional media focus in on things. For instance, yesterday I went online to see about Pepeng damage on Yahoo… Not even a mention after Saturday when Manila was spared. This morning, there is nothing about Sumatra on there…

    Youj are right that bad things can happen anywhere, and I'm certain there will be much "global warming" politics and talk in the upcoming weeks… until another thing hasppens somewhere. But is SE Asia more dangerous than other places? I really don't agree.

  2. Hi John – Ha ha… Yeah, I don't feel it is more dangerous to live here either. But, I disagree that no more has happened here than anywhere else. Disasters, in the past 10 years, have killed between 300,000 and 500,000 people in SE Asia…. you could add up all the rest of the world and not come up with 10% of that total in the past 10 years…. right? 😀

  3. kamusta bob
    i certainly think se asia and philippines is far more dangerous then where i live in maine.we havehad no real bad storms in some time.exept for alot of lobstermen figting over territory has been bad this year.i think if you ask alot of people from manila if they feel safe i would say a high percentage would say no.mindanao seems alot safer them luzon.my time in phlippines i allways felt safe in mindanao.i hope no more bad things happen in se asia.but we never know right
    salamat bob

  4. Hey Bob,
    I just read about a 6.5 earthquake off the coast of Cotobato city. I guess You can add that to the list. I didnt hear of any damage from the quake though.
    From what I've been reading, the increase in typhoons is caused by an el nino situation, and is cyclic and has nothing to do with gobal warming. So the good news is this too shall pass 🙂
    They also say in an el nino year, California will experience an increase in rain this year. And we need it too!

  5. Hi RonW – Really? I don't think it is "far more dangerous" here. Despite the questions in my article… I think that the events of the past decade or so are more of a fluke than anything else. I feel quite comfortable living here myself.

  6. Hi Hudson – Earthquakes in the 6 region of the Richter scale are pretty common here… so I don't usually consider anything major unless it hits 7. Even though a 6 or 6.5 is quite a quake, usually there is no damage here for a quake of that size.

  7. Hey Bob, I was just wondering why Mendanao doesn't get hit by a typhoon. Is it because its close to the equator?

  8. Hi hudson – I don't know the technical reason for it, but the path that typhoons take just doesn't go this far south. Kind of like in the US, although there are Pacific Hurricanes, they don't ever hit Oregon or Washington. But, I don't know the science behind it.

  12. Hi Guy – Oh, OK. That's a different post! The video was actually from Paul Keating, if I said John I was mistaken. I posted the video on Saturday, and you can see it here.

  15. just look at the buildings they live in and the hillsides, mix in a little shaking and everything is gone and s.e. Asia is known for that type of living ..most of my neighbors are build like that..won't take much to have them fall over …Phil n Jess

  16. Hi Phil – That's very true. I heard the other day, though, on the news that it is because of the light construction that there are fewer deaths. The reason is that if a bamboo house collapses on you, it's lightweight and such, if a concrete or stick built house falls in, the collapse alone will kill you. Kind of makes sense, in a weird way.

  17. Well, it certainly happens more in SE Asia, than in Denmark. We have close to no natural disasters here.

    A quake (4.8) hit sweden about a year ago, which is a very rare occurance. So rare that when the danish media found out that no people had been injured here, they reported on a pet turtle that had died during the quake (I believe it was hit by furniture).

    Flooded homes happens once in a while when we've been hit by heavy rainfall, but due to most people's economic situation and insurances, they're able to recover fairly easy.

    Storms here hit perhaps every 5 to 10 years and could probably be compared to the weakest tropical depressions that occur in SE Asia. As most buildings here are made of bricks and concrete, the damage is usually minimal and injuries are mostly due to people going outside after they've been warned not to.

  19. Hudson;
    You are correct, the closer you are to the equator the less chance you’ll have a Typhoon (Pacific), Cyclone (Indian), or Hurricane (Atlantic) These storms are attracted to the two poles, both north and south. At sea we’ll check its path and try to run in the opposite direction. (A couple of times that didn’t work so well for the ships I was on, what a ride!)

  20. In the BIBLE it tells us this will happen. Read Matthew chapter 24 and then tell me what you think? Matthew 24:7 For nation shall rise agains nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. Would challenge anyone to read this. The whole chapter of Matthew will tell what will happen. Or might I say is already happening. GOD BLESS YOU ALL AND THOSE HERE IN THE PHILIPPINES AMEN!

  21. Everyone is entitled to an opinion but the facts do speak for themselves and the facts are more disasters do occur in this part of the world on average than elsewhere else . But , perhaps the optimum word is disaster .

    California has bunches of "tremors' but rarely a major quake , Hence frequency is present but not loss of life and property damage to the extent it happens in Asia . That's just an example of course but given this part of the worlds proximity to the "ring of fire" , volcanoes and tsunamis as well as an overabundance of typhoons it is understandable .

    What i did not know until recently is that Nasa (? ) predicts areas "most likely" to be hit by stellar objects ( comets , asteroids )as also being a large part of Asia , particularly China , Malaysia and the Philippines . The Marianas Trench east of the Philippines is one example . Deepest part of the worlds oceans at 35,000+ feet & supposedly formed by such stellar objects .

  22. Wish I could enjoy it, as much as I should. I dont know if this makes me a bad person, but I find the nature and natural disasters interesting / facinating. It might have something to do with the mundane environment here, just hoping for something new to happen, that nature will show a bit of its strength.

  23. My take on this is that for one I would not be worried about living in SE Asia or the Philippines. Yes lots of natural disasters has happend in recent times. However we live in a world where we are globally experiencing the cost of century after century having molested our environment, and when that happens ofcourse it strikes stronger in asia since the wheater is by nature more aggresive there then it is in Europe or the northern part of US.

    Will it change? Well…lot's been happening in Europe to focus more on the environment – and even though the US refuse to pay it's part of the bill I still think there's hope for us. But what really worries me is that asia with it's wild agressive wheater is still one of the most poluteing regions in the world. Jeepneys, old cars etc etc – I know it's a matter of money and that it would be diffricult to change there – but that exactly THAT region with THAT wheater is still running on high fuel consumeing and major emission produceing veichles is what really worries me! But not enough to scare me off. I would still return and our plans to move there in time has not changed because of that….however the budget might have as it becomes more important to build according to the threats we're facing.

    When it comes to bird flu and influenza A….well…the main problem seen with my eyes is that people can not afford to go to the doctor, so things gets detected to late. Because a lot of people has to be near death before they go….and in the meantime viruses spread….

    Also hygienje and food safety plays a part. I know…I eat from certain street vendors when I'm in the Philippines, but there's definately also a lot that I would never eat from – and even the good ones does impose a threat, because no matter how carefull you are on the street it's the riskiest way at all to handle food.

    So in my mind…some things can be solved, some well…will take a lot óf work…but does it surprise me? Not really…

  25. Hi Alan – Thanks for dropping by, my friend! Yep, I agree that these things just happen more here, the statistics just seem to spell it out clearly. I did not know about the asteroids and such though! Now you've given me something else to think about! 😉

  27. Well just say Micheal that I was not talking about what I might think but am talking about what GOD says in his word. Also Matthew chapter 24 tell us that GOD will turn his wrath on the whole world not just SE ASIA. Because we reject him maybe he is just trying to draw us to him. First time he came as our savior, next time he comes will be to judge. No it does not matter what I think but let me ask you this. Do you think it matters what GOD thinks? Before you said to me did I think GOD was taking out his wrath on SE ASIA did you read Matthew 24? I may not be real sir but GOD sure is!

  28. I am not trying to start a argument BOB just stateing the facts. In this day and time just say BIBLE and everyone gets excited. I am just stating what GODS word says. Do you not believe Matthew chapter 24 BOB. Is ok to talk about brands of beer but just mention GOD and you are in trouble. Whatever happened to IN GOD WE TRUST? Why don't you read Matthew chapter 24 and tell me what you think sir?

  29. Bob G – There are mentions of God on the site. I am telling you, though, that you have had an opportunity to talk about your beliefs, but you do not have the right to push your beliefs on others, like telling me what I should read (so that I will agree with you). OK, Bob, you had your opportunity to share your opinion, but let's drop the religious talk now.

    Thank you for your consideration.

  30. Why do I not have the right to share my belief with others BOB? You let others share theirs?

  31. You asked a question IS S.E. ASIA DAMNED? I tried to give my answer and you got mad. The only difference was I was giving a refeference to where my belief came from. Can I ask you where do you get your opinons and beliefs from BOB?

  32. Bob G – I never got mad, I just asked that the Bible based argument be stopped. I never said I was angry, nor was I. I just know where these Bible based arguments go, and I will not allow the site to go there.

    Now, Bob, this is my 4th time to ask you, and it will be my last time. Please drop the topic. If you don't drop it, then I will be forced to stop you from participating in future discussions. So, please, let's just move on.

  33. hi bob,

    I know you want to stop the bible argument, I am not here to start one, I just want to vent what my belief is, I am not as religious as bob is, my take on this is simple, SE is not damned, our earth is part of a solar system that is so violent, meteors, asteroids, solar flares, etc..etc. floating around the space, some are floating around near the earth and it has some effect to our earth, gravity pull, radiation to name a few, the only thing that those rocks stopping from hitting us are the gravity pull of other planets preventing it from slamming us, the earth's protective shield that protect us from harmful radiation. I don't attribute this kind of disasters from the bible, the bible itself is full of vagueness and there's no specific details why it is happening, can you imagine if you are living in another planet and major disaster is a common occurrence? would you attribute that to a bible? or how about the non-stop slamming of rocks to other planet? does the bible say anything about it? of course not.

    the reality is, we are living in a place where we are also part of a violent space family, the thin shield on earth that protect us is the only thing that makes us alive today, without it, there will be no man or any living being, no bible, Koran or any scripture that tells us about damnation.

    it's all about understanding where human stands in this vast universe.

  35. Bob, comments about the weather: The Western Pacific definitely seems to be the hot spot this season. Here in Florida, on the other side of the world, the Atlantic is unbelievably calm [ knock on wood ] — no major storm have hit the US mainland at all this season and the season is winding down (the so called peak was September 10th). Blame it on El Niño and La Niña. Weather across the globe is screwed up. Just ask Al Gore. He will tell you in no uncertain terms it is caused by Global Warming. Well, I'm not so sure about that. Apparently sunspot activity cycles thru 11 year cycles, so does the global weather (although not necessarily on the same 11 year cycle).

    About the ferry disaster(s): The root cause there is basically one of "Greed". The rich feeding on the misery of the poor. Write about capsized ferry and the article will usually contain the same things: extreme overbooking, poor maintenance, general lack of safety all around. The government turns a blind eye to all of these contributing factors. As sure as the sun will come up tomorrow, within a year or so we will be reading about another Ferry disaster. (Meaning there is no incentive for the ferry operators to clean up their acts).

  37. Let me see now: Bob Martin moves to the Philippines in 2000. The 21st Century, so far, has been disasterous in SE Asia. Hmmmm. No correlation, is there? 😆

    Trouble follows me around – if you need someone to tag this stuff on, you can pin it on me! 😉

  39. Hi Bob. You take care there – we have family in Pangasinan, Luzon and they are really getting hit hard. I really enjoy your web magazine and this post has raised our thinking levels a notch or two, judging from the responses. Here's my take – the word "damned" implies a source that is sovereign as we humans certainly cannot "damn" a country or territory (except maybe militarily) and "mother nature" doesn't have an intellectual personality to be able to knowingly or systematically "damn" a territory. Is SE Asia damned….no. Is SE Asia in the line of fire….yes. Ingat lagi – you and your family. We hope to be joining you there in about 7 years and would love to meet you some day. Our greetings from Georgia, USA.

  41. Who hath asended up into heaven, or descended? Who hath gathered the wind in his fists? who hath bound the waters in a garment? who hath established all the ends of the earth? what is his name, and what is his son's name, if thou canst tell? Proverbs 30:4

    The LORD is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked; the LORD hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet. He rebuketh the sea, and maketh it dry, and drieth up all the rivers: Bashan languisheth, and Carmel, and the flower of Lebanon languisheth. The mountains quake at him and the hills melt, and the earth is burned at his presence the world, and all tht dwell therein. Who can stand before his indignation? and who can abide in the fierceness of his anger? his fury is poured out like fire, and the rocks are thrown down by him. The LORD is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him. But with an overrunning flood he will make an utter end of the place thereof, and darkness shall pursue his enemies. NAHUM 1: 1:3-8

    GOD WANTS US TO TURN TO HIM! If you were to go up to heaven and the Lord asked why should I let you in my heaven what would you say?

    What you must do to be saved! you must repent; Admit you are guilty of sin and are a sinner, that you can not do anything to save yourself.Ask forgiveness for you sins. Words of Christ Luke 13:3 "I tell you Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish."
    YOU MUST TRUST putting your complete faith in Jesus Christ to save you. John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

    SO BOB if you want to cut me off of your site that is between you and GOD! If you do not want answers about GOD being in control of the Universe then don't ask such questions. MY prayer sir is that people in the Philippines Repent and accept Christ as their savior. MAY GOD BLESS YOU AND YOUR FAMILY BOB and everyone else who is reading these words of truth

    It says above "SPEAK YOUR MIND" I just spoke my heart.

  42. Another religous zealout.

    God has nothing to do with the issues unfolding. The universe is all about cause and affect. Man has unbalanced things on this planet – now the planet is changing. As simple as that, however for those who are in the center of the calamities, let us help them ourselves because God has nothing to do with this.

    Just a realist believer.

    Good article bob