The deluge of irrationality that Kristine spawned

[Lee]

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ONE of the casualties of Severe Tropical Storm Kristine has been reason. And there are just too many to mention. As waters inundated houses and communities, so were idiocy and irrationality, which, like torrential flood waters, filled social media like a deluge.

My favorite was that piece where someone was attributing the flooding in the South Luzon Expressway (SLEx) to the cutting of trees on both sides of the freeway, including the entrance and exit points.

I am not certain where in the science classes it was even taught that cutting trees in a piece of land would cause instant flooding. What is certain is that there is a terrible failure to communicate the precise correlation between deforestation and the occurrence of floods and that such was not the one that was present when trees were cut along SLEx.

The effects of deforestation in higher elevations on the occurrence of flash floods downstream and of landslides were erroneously applied. This is what we get when popular media contribute to the peddling of disinformation that leads to the conventional un-wisdom that cutting trees always causes floods. This myth was further cemented when images of mangrove forests performing their protective function of acting as walls to protect coastlines from surges were wrongly applied to be the same function of trees anywhere.

And then there was this post of someone ranting against government agencies managing our dams for releasing water only when rains are already pouring. The poor guy opined that it would have been wiser to release the waters long before the rains had arrived. What was conveniently forgotten was the equal possibility that should waters be released earlier, and the rains, if they come, may not be enough to replenish the released waters, we may be facing another serious problem of water shortage. People conveniently forget that the direction of a storm or a typhoon, while tractable, is still subject to change and that estimates of the volume of precipitation, while predictable, are just that — estimates.

The dam-bashing appeared to reach its comic heights when I read a post where someone argued that it was not the heavy precipitation that was at fault in causing the floods in some areas but that the dams released water. It was a good thing that she was corrected by another who pointed out that dams will not just open their gates and release water unless there is heavy precipitation.

And then there were the political idiocies that exploded like debris blown furiously by the ferocious winds of Kristine.

One person boldly argued, in all confidence, that the presence of political dynasties was the main cause of the floods and even dared people to prove him wrong. Well, Naga City was flooded, but the last time I checked, it was not included in the scope of power of the Villafuertes in Camarines Sur. We can say the same thing about many other flooded areas where there are no political dynasties.

But seriously, the attribution to political causes, while having some factual basis, may seem to have been overblown and overused. Indeed, corrupt practices by politicians and their co-conspirators in the bureaucracy may siphon off funds for flood control projects. However, experts point out that flood control projects, even if properly constructed, with all funds intact and accounted for, may still stand no chance in holding off flood waters from a severe storm with two months' worth of rainfall falling in only 24 hours.

And then you have people expecting their government agents, even the president, to be instantly present at their doorsteps, bringing relief goods or leading rescue missions. This is a mentality that has been honed and framed by a political culture where calamities and disasters are turned by politicians into opportunities to further their brands and their electability. Technically, there are already government agencies that are tasked to render disaster-related services, and yet what we see are politicians literally descending and wading in flood waters, distributing food and other goods, acting like heroes. While some groups tend to categorize their preferred politicians as genuine in their actions, there is no other explanation for why anyone who would not have any political ambition would consider using the images featuring them in action during calamities except to advance their political careers.

This is the culture that has bred this #whereistheleader hashtag, where the population is no longer just satisfied by a president, a governor, or a mayor holding a press conference or a briefing of the various disaster risk reduction and management councils. They demand that the leaders should be physically present. And yet, this is the same public that tends to treat with derision those politicians who constantly make their presence felt during calamities by calling them "epal."

It is a culture that imposes conflicting demands on its leaders by attacking some and then deifying others for their physical presence in calamity areas, the mode of which largely depends on the partisan biases of those making judgments on these leaders.

But if there is one type of irrationality that would top it all, it is when people readily blame the leaders for every calamity. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. may not be perfect, but certainly, there is some sense of idiocy to attribute every typhoon that visits the country and the failure of the system as solely his fault, which is the trope being peddled by his social media bashers. This is an oversimplification of the complex layer of structural and deeply rooted causes of climate-induced disasters.

No amount of flood control infrastructures that this government can build, or hours spent in relief work with the president present, can negate and instantly undo layers of flawed development that led to deforestation, urbanization, land use conversion, excessive solid wastes, and over-extraction of water that cause land subsidence that extend far into the term of previous presidents. Climate change is not the fault of any single president, including the incumbent.

But as always, partisan idol worshippers will continue to see their preferred political figures and their hated ones through clouded, biased and water-damaged lenses.

https://www.manilatimes.net/2024/10/31/opinion/columns/the-deluge-of-irrationality-that-kristine-spawned/1994468

 

 

[Guy F.]

I blame the education system for failing to teach people how to think critically. This failure is evident in the US as well as the Philippines.

[Dave Hounddriver]

1 hour ago, Lee said:

My favorite was that piece where someone was attributing the flooding in the South Luzon Expressway (SLEx) to the cutting of trees on both sides of the freeway, including the entrance and exit points.

Well I hope the buried the trees to cut down on global warming.  You think I joke?  Read this "burying wood—rather than letting it decay on the surface—could keep billions of tons of planet-warming carbon dioxide (CO2) out of the atmosphere, advocates say"  SOURCE (click on it for the source link)

[scott h]

39 minutes ago, Guy F. said:

think critically

critically or logically?

Just as in the US. Over the recent years hurricanes have destroyed billions and killed thousands. But if people keep building million-dollar homes in a flood area, what the hell do they expect? 

They have a choice have a nice ocean view and wait for disaster or build on high ground with a view of some trees and be safe. Don't blame global warning, blame your stupid choice. 

[Mike J]

35 minutes ago, scott h said:

critically or logically?

Just as in the US. Over the recent years hurricanes have destroyed billions and killed thousands. But if people keep building million-dollar homes in a flood area, what the hell do they expect? 

They have a choice have a nice ocean view and wait for disaster or build on high ground with a view of some trees and be safe. Don't blame global warning, blame your stupid choice. 

I have read where a number of people are expressing dismay that the bank still expects them to make mortgage payments after their house has been destroyed by floods or hurricane.  They really expect the bank to "forgive the loans because the house is gone". 

[Tommy T.]

I think we are back to stupid is as stupid does.

I agree that so many people have and continue to build homes on beachfront lands and on flood plains of rivers. I saw so many instances of flooding in Washington state when I lived there of people who built homes on 100 year flood plains and then got washed out. They cried to the government to bail them out and then some of them started to re-build their homes on the same sites within weeks of the flooding! They are probably ignorant or just ignore the fact that there are also 200 year, 500 year and 1,000 year flood plains.

However, I will add that climate change has likely increased the chances of flooding in some areas and especially along the coastal areas worldwide. But that does not prevent greed or stupidity.

But heaven help you if you try to walk across property in front of any of these waterfront homes... 

[BrettGC]

It's the same nonsense that  goes on after a natural disaster anywhere in the world.  The Brisbane floods in 2010/11 caused the same reactions and resultant enquiry that   achieved nothing except a couple of days longer in the headlines than a normal news cycle event.  The chuckles are many when the "experts" expound their wisdom though. 

[Snowy79]

Just look at Manila for examples of idiocy, Dolomite beach and the ongoing land reclamation from the sea in a City that floods in a normal downpour. 

[Freebie]

Im guessing the Dolomite beach has long gone.. update , no still there but covered in trash. What a surprise. Did they think it would stay pristine. ?????

 

 

[Possum]

1 hour ago, Snowy79 said:

Dolomite beach and the ongoing land reclamation from the sea in a City that floods in a normal downpour. 

I have always marveled at the term "land reclamation" they came up with. They are not reclaiming anything they are filling part of Manila bay with dirt. The sewage will be more concentrated when they are done which should make living in the new condos a unique experience.