Fallout

The human toll continues to mount in the Philippines. Alas, there may be more rain to come. One can only hope that officials find a way to respond effectively to the immediate needs of the people who find themselves displaced from their homes. This humanitarian crisis is quite naturally the most direct and obvious impact of Ondoy.

Yet it is also worth taking a brief moment to ponder what kind of economic, political, and social problems Ondoy will unexpectedly expose and what the longer-term consequences of the storm will be. Like the 1995 heat wave in Chicago or Hurricane Katrina ten years later, natural disasters have a way of illuminating the deep, structural issues that a community confronts.

According to a report by Bloomberg, Economic Planning Secretary Augusto Santos announced that official growth rate projections may be revised downward. Infrastructure and agricultural production have been especially hard hit.

A general election will be held next year on May 10, 2010.