Evacuations have begun in the Philippines in anticipation of the arrival of typhoon Rammasun (Glenda), which is poised to be the first real test of the country' disaster preparedness, reports the Guardian. The government admitted to learning important lessons from Haiyan (Yolanda), during which many victims died because they were not fully informed on the strength of the incoming typhoon and the consequences of a storm surge; and a large component of preparation this year has been angled towards education.
"For the first time, donor agencies are now more open to support emergency preparedness unlike before when the emphasis was more on emergency response," said Nonoy Fajardo, a Unicef Philippines disaster risk-reduction expert. "The first thing people need to be educated about is climate change. Filipinos are not new to typhoons, however, what they knew then may not be appropriate to things that are happening right now," said Alexander Pama, chief undersecretary of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC).