Filipinos grow uneasy and trust in govt is erodedFILIPINOS have always had a sense of complacency when it comes to natural calamities.迷你倉 After all, their country is visited by some 20 typhoons annually.Super Typhoon Haiyan wiped that all away on Nov 8. In its aftermath, what the people feel is a sense of unease, and an even greater distrust of government."People now know exactly what a storm surge is. When they hear a storm surge is coming, they will head to the mountains," University of the Philippines (UP) psychologist Flora Generalao told The Straits Times in Cebu.Most of those who died when Haiyan struck are believed to have drowned when a seven-metre-high storm surge created by 300kmh winds rolled through coastal areas in Leyte and Samar provinces in the central Philippines. It destroyed Tacloban, the provincial capital of Leyte where nearly 4,000 are said to have been killed.Dr Generalao said both the government and the people had made preparations ahead of the typhoon's arrival, but they had prepared for something they had experienced before."Yolanda was something different," she said, referring to the local name for Haiyan.She said the typhoon "jolted us to a new level of attention".Professor Greg Lloren, also of UP, said the "we can weather any storm" mentality worked against the Philippines this time.He said recent typhoons like Ketsana, which struck in 2009 and paralysed the capital region, had been so severe that surviving them had become a badge of honour among Filipinos."We surv自存倉ved them, and the structures remained intact," he said. "We had confidence in that." With Haiyan, however, "the calamity was so big that (it) has become a game changer".He said the government's slow response to help victims despite an outpouring of international aid had created greater distrust in the authorities."Half of me is saying we have to trust our government, if only to support it," he said. "However, with what I'm seeing, the other half is telling me otherwise."On the street, the blame also shifts easily to the government.Mr Wilfredo Autida, 42, a taxi driver from one of the affected islands in northern Cebu, said the government failed to tell the people what to expect."They already saw what hurricanes can do in America, but the preparations they made were the usual," he said.Weather officials had raised the warning for the typhoon to No. 4 - an alert level not seen in decades, and the equivalent of a Category 5 hurricane - as Haiyan approached the Philippines.An assessment made by US-based consultancy firm PS&A said the Philippine government devolved disaster preparedness and response responsibilities to local governments and encouraged a redirection of funds towards increased preparedness rather than primarily for relief efforts."A core weakness of this strategy was exposed when Haiyan tore through the country. The local governments that were supposed to take the lead in immediate relief were decimated. The first responders became the first victims," it concluded.rdancel@sph.com.sg迷你倉
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