Wake Up: The Wrath of Nature to Heal Itself

Delmar Topinio Taclibon

Wake Up: The Wrath of Nature to Heal Itself

By: Delmar T. Taclibon – October 8, 2011

Every time a rain pour occurs, just imagine that millions of years ago, Baguio City, the whole of Benguet, Mountain Province/Bontoc, and Cebu were once upon a time submerged, thus you can find sea shells, corals and sea creature fossils in Kawasan falls in Cebu. Even the Chocolate Hills of Bohol were similarly submerged slowly creating conical formation of karst hills thin to medium bedded, sandy to rubble marine lime-stones. These lime-stones contain the abundant fossils of shallow marine foraminifera, coral, mollusks, and algae. These conical karst hills, called mogote, are created by a combination of the dissolution of lime-stones by rainfall, surface water, and groundwater and their sub-aerial erosion by rivers and streams after they had been uplifted above sea level and fractured by tectonic processes.

Nature is now healing itself, recreating itself by destroying mankind thru destructive typhoons/hurricanes that are created out of violent energies of nature that no superman can ever tame. A typhoon the size of Hurricane Andrew that devastated wide areas in the U.S. generated the equivalent of a ten (10) – Megaton Bomb on a continuing basis for days unlike an atomic bomb blast of a split second, unhampered due to destruction, denudation and rapacious rape of mountain ranges, virgin and rain forests and every mountain barrier you can imagine.

A phenomenon known as the “Albedo Effect” caused by the increase in reflectivity of the Earth’s surface due to massive loss of tree cover could influence convection currents, wind patterns, and rainfall in the countries affected.

The forest area in the Philippines has gone from peak of 90% to less than 15% today and still declining. At the current rate of deforestation, the Philippines’ remaining virgin forest of less than 1% of the land area will disappear in less than ten 10 years time unless government has to implement total log ban, mining ban, shifting cultivation, and stop unregulated wood conversion into firewood and charcoal. Now is the time for every able bodied “Humankind” to repair the excesses of the past by engaging massive reforestation, environmental concern and rational utilization of remaining land areas (enact a law requiring “Vertical Housing” in lieu of horizontal structures), of course, with the initiative of government and private sector as a matter of responsibility.

The once upon lust green Mountain Ranges of the Caraballo Mountains and Sierra Madre act as barrier to strong winds and hurricane coming from the Pacific Ocean., and the once upon a time Mangrove forested China Sea shorelines deter Storm Surge – now there is none!

The areas of Central Luzon, Cagayan Valley Plains, Metro Manila, Makati, Paranaque and Las Pinas will submerge in five (5) years time if we will not move fast unimaginable! Not even the power of the Supreme Being can do a miracle to repair the excesses of the past against the environment, only human kind can!

Since the existence of Homosapien, 1668 - 2011 natural disasters are as follows:
• Turkey, 1668: earthquake (8,000 dead)
• Hokkaido, Japan, 1730: Earthquake (140,000 dead)
• Lisbon, 1755: earthquake and tsunami (30,000 dead)
• Calcutta, 1737: Earthquake (300,000 dead)
• India, 1775: Tsunami (60,000 dead)
• Iran, 1780: earthquake (200,000 dead)
• Caribbeans, 1780: Hurricane (22,000 dead)
• Sumbawa, Indonesia, 1815: Mt Tambora erupts (88,000 dead)
• Japan, 1826: Tsunami (27,000 dead)
• Concepcion, Chile, 1835: earthquake (5,000 dead)
• Mapoli, Italy, 1857: earthquake (11,000 dead)
• India, 1864: Cyclone (70,000 dead)
• Bangladesh, 1876: Cyclone (200,000 dead)
• China, 1881: Typhoon (300,000 dead)
• Mount Krakatoa, Indonesia, august 1883: volcano eruption and tsunami (40,000+ dead)
• Huayan Kou, China, 1887: Yang-tse Kiang flooding (one million dead)
• Mino-owari, Japan, 1891: earthquake (7,000 dead)
• Sanriku, Japan, 1896: Tsunami (27,000 dead)
• India, 1897: earthquake (1,500 dead)
• Galveston, 1900: Hurricane (8,000 dead)
• Martinique, 1902: Volcano (38,000 dead)
• San Francisco, 1906: earthquake and fire (3,000 dead)
• Colombia, 1906: earthquake (1,000 dead)
• Valparaiso, Chile, 1906: earthquake (20,000 dead)
• Messina, Italy, 1908: 7.5 earthquake (70,000 dead)
• Mexico City, 1911: earthquake
• Guatemala, 1917: earthquake (600 dead)
• Gansu, China, 1920: 8.6 earthquake (200,000 dead)
• Tokyo and Yokohama, Japan, 1923: 8.3 earthquake (143,000 dead)
• Nanshan, China, 1927: 8.3 earthquake (200,000 dead)
• Florida, USA, 1928: Hurricane (1800 dead)
• China, 1931: Flooding (3.7 million dead)
• Gansu, China, 1932: 7.6 earthquake (70,000 dead)
• Sanriku, Japan, 1933: 8.4 earthquake (3,000 dead)
• Bihar, India, 1934: 8.1 earthquake (10,700 dead)
• Quetta, Pakistan, 1935: 7.5 earthquake (60,000 dead)
• New York, USA, 1938: Rains (600 dead)
• Erzincan, Turkey, 1939: 7.8 earthquake (33,000 dead)
• Santiago, Chile, 1939: earthquake (30,000 dead)
• Tonankai, Japan, 1944: 8.1 earthquake (1,200 dead)
• Nankaido, Japan, 1946: earthquake (1,330 dead)
• Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, 1948: earthquake (100,000 dead)
• Assam, India, 1950: earthquake (1,526 dead)
• Holland, 1953: Sea flood (1,794 dead)
• Iran, 1953: Rain flood (10,000 dead)
• Louisiana, USA, 1957: Hurricane (400 dead)
• Japan, 1958: Typhoon (5,000 dead)
• Morocco, 1960: earthquake (10,000 dead)
• Valdavia, Chile, 1960: 9.5 earthquake (most powerful of the century) and tsunami (5,700 dead)
• Mt Huascaran, Peru, 1962: Volcano eruption (3,000)
• Skopje, Yugoslavia, 1963: earthquake (1,066)
• North Peru, 1970: 7.8 earthquake (66,000 dead)
• Bangladesh, 1970: Sea flood (200-500,000 dead)
• Vietnam, 1971: Red River flood (100,000 dead)
• Managua, Nicaragua, 1972: earthquake flood (10,000 dead)
• Bangladesh, 1974: floods (28,000 dead)
• Honduras, 1974: hurricane (5,000 dead)
• Ethiopia, 1974: famine (200,000 dead)
• Haicheng, China, 1975: 7.0 earthquake (10,000 dead)
• Tangshan, China, 1976: 8.0 earthquake (750,000 dead)
• Guatemala, 1976: earthquake (23,000 dead)
• Andhra Pradesh, India, 1977: cyclone (10,000 dead)
• Caribbeans, 1979: Hurricane (2,000 dead)
• Mexico, 1982: volcanic eruption (1,800 dead)
• Yemen, 1982: earthquake (3,000 dead)
• Ciudad de Mexico, 1985: 8.1 earthquake (9,500 dead)
• Colombia, 1985: Volcano (25,000 dead)
• Armenia, 1988: earthquake (55,000 dead)
• Colombia, 1985: eruption of Nevado del Ruiz (23,000 dead)
• Bangladesh, 1988: Monsoon flood (1,300 dead)
• Gilan and Zanjan, Iran, 1990: 7.7 earthquake (35,000 dead)
• Bangladesh, 1991: tsunami (138,000 dead)
• In November 1991, the Ormoc region was inundated by Tropical Storm Thelma (local name: Uring). Flash floods and landslides killed more than 6,000 people,
• Latur, India, 1993: earthquake (22,000 dead)
• Kobe, Japan, 1995: earthquake (5,500 dead)
• Niger, 1995: meningitis epidemic (3,000 dead)
• Chicago, USA, 1995: heatwave (739 dead)
• North Korea, 1995-98: Floods and famine (3.5 million dead)
• Tashkent, Uzbekistan, 1996: earthquake (??,000 dead)
• Papua New Guinea, 1998: Tsunami (2,200 dead)
• Yangtze Kiang, China, 1998: flooding (3,600 dead)
• Central America, 1998: Hurricane Mitch and floods (12,000 dead)
• Afghanistan, 1998: Earthquakes (10,000 dead)
• Colombia, 1999: earthquake (1,185 dead)
• Izmit, Turkey, 1999: earthquake (17,000 dead)
• Taiwan, 1999: 7.6 earthquake (2,400 dead)
• Orissa, India, 1999: Cyclone (7,600 dead)
• Venezuela, 1999: Floods (20,000 dead)
• Vietnam, 1999: Floods (750 dead)
• Gujarat, India, 2001: earthquake (20,000 dead)
• El Salvador, 2001: earthquake (850 dead)
• Afghanistan, 2002: earthquake (2,500 dead)
• Algeria, 2003: earthquake (2,266 dead)
• Andhra Pradesh, India, 2003: Heat wave (1,300 dead)
• France, Spain and Italy, 2003: Heat wave (50,000 dead)
• Bam, Iran, 2003: earthquake (26,300 dead)
• Al-Hoceima, Morocco, 2004: earthquake (571 dead)
• Haiti and Dominican Republic, 2004: rains (2,400 dead)
• Philippines, 2004: typhoon (1,000 dead)
• China, 2004: floods (1,300 dead)
• Southeast Asia, 2004: tsunamis caused by 9.0 earthquake (245,000 dead of which111,000 dead in Indonesia, 31,000 in Sri Lanka, 10,700 in India, 5,400 in Thailand, 68 in Malaysia, 82 in the Maldives, 300 in Myanmar and 150 in Somalia, including 1,500 Scandinavian tourists, and dozens of Germans, Italians, Dutch, etc)
• Zarand, Iran, 2005: earthquake (500 dead)
• Nias, Indonesia, 2005: 8.7 earthquake (1000 dead)
• Mumbai, India, 2005: monsoon (1,000 dead)
• China, 2005: floods (567 dead)
• Louisiana and Mississippi, USA, 2005: "Katrina" hurricane (1,836 dead)
• Niger, 2005: famine (10,000? dead)
• Kashmir, 2005: earthquake (80,500 dead, of which 79,000 in Pakistan and 1,350 in India)
• Central America, 2005: floods (1,400 dead, of which 1,200 in Guatemala)
• Philippines, 2006: mudslides (1,800)
• Java, 2006: earthquake (4,300)
• Java, 2006: tsunami (520)
• India and Pakistan, aug 2006: floods (300)
• Southern Ethiopia, aug 2006: floods (800)
• Fujian, China, aug 2006: typhoon (260)
• Indian subcontinent, june 2007: storms (228 in Pakistan, 500 in India, 600 in Bangladesh, unknown in Afghanistan)
• Hungary, july 2007: heatwave (500)
• North Korea, august 2007: floods (1,000?)
• Peru, august 2007: earthquake (540)
• Bangladesh, november 2007: cyclone (4,000)
• Afghanistan, february 2008: cold wave (926)
• Myanmar/Burma, may 2008: cyclone (135,000)
• China, may 2008: earthquake (70,000)
• Haiti, august 2008: hurricane (500)
• India and Bangladesh, september 2008: floods (635)
• Abruzzo, Italy, april 2009: earthquake (300)
• Taiwan, august 2009: typhoon (700)
• Sumatra, Indonesia, september 2009: earthquake (1200)
• Philippines, october 2009: storms (189)
• USA, 2009: swine flu (10,000)
• Haiti, january 2010: earthquake (230,000)
• Conception, Chile, february 2010: 8.8 earthquake (452)
• Qinghai, China, april 2010: earthquake (760)
• Russia, july 2010: drownings following heat wave (1200)
• Pakistan, july 2010: flooding (1,313)
• Zhouqu, Gansu, China, august 2010: landslide (700)
• Indonesia, october 2010: tsunami (500)
• South-east Brazil, january 2011: flooding and mudslides (500)
• Japan, march 2011: earthquake and tsunami (26,000)

-Delmar Nur Faramarz Ferdowsi Salah Ad-Din Tomasa Gomez de Molina Costa Sanchez de Cassa Fajardo Lopez Roldan Martinez Simarro Mondejar del Castillo Balera Chumilla Portal Ynarejos Ramos de Losa del Pozo Africa Bautista Rubio-Escrivano Bucad Calaycay Alcaraz “RAPASAKDALSAKAY” Topinio Taclibon-

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Plundering Paradise, Broad, Robin and Cavanagh, John, University of California Press, 1993.
Healing the Planet, Ehrlich, Paul and Ehrlich, Anne, Addison Wesley, 1991.
Saving the Earth, Gamalinda, Eric and Coronel, Shiela, Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism and the Evelio Javier Foundation, 1993.
Saving the Tropical Forests, Gradwohl, Judith and Greenberg, Russell, Island Press, 1988.
World Resources, World Resources, Oxford University Press, 1994.
Saving the Trees, Ang, Armando, A., Bookman Printing House, Copyright 1996.