EDITORIAL – Priority for the year
(The Philippine Star) January 02, 2012

 The year ended with holiday merriment tempered by the continuing misery of thousands of people in the flood-stricken areas of Mindanao. The devastation caused by the flashfloods spawned by tropical storm “Sendong” capped a year that saw rare natural catastrophes, including a storm surge in Manila Bay that destroyed the sea wall and submerged Roxas Boulevard in several feet of water.

Rare, extreme weather was not unique to the Philippines in 2011. Japan suffered its worst tsunami following a powerful earthquake in March, while Thailand still has to recover from over a month of flooding that inundated even the capital Bangkok. Tens of thousands died from the worst drought in 60 years in southeastern Africa.

The year opened with a landslide triggered by incessant rains outside Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, which left 800 dead and 400 missing. In the same month, the northeastern United States saw up to 20 inches of snow in what was dubbed as the “snowpocalypse.”

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