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Hell or Flood: Extreme Weather Hits Philippine Schools {{^userSubscribed}} {{/userSubscribed}} {{^userSubscribed}} {{/userSubscribed}}
Philippine schools face many climate hazards
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Disasters lead to interruptions to classes and learning loss
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Officials aim to build resilience through technology
Mariejo Ramos
MANILA – Just weeks after scorching heat sent thousands of Philippine students home from stuffy classrooms, the country's schools are bracing for new climate change challenges ahead of the onset of Southeast Asia's typhoon season.
Schools were closed for several days in April and May as temperatures soared to over 40 degrees Celsius. Authorities have revised their education calendars to accommodate the extreme weather, and schools are now scheduled to reopen after the July holidays instead of August.
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Typhoon season begins in July, and storms are an immediate threat. In the past, many schools have had to cancel classes and send students home because classrooms were flooded, sometimes using schools as temporary evacuation shelters.
The National Weather Service said there could be more tropical storms in 2024 than last year because of a possible return of the La Niña weather pattern between June and August.
After the El Niño weather phenomenon caused extreme weather events around the world this year, forecasters predict it will shift to La Niña in the coming months, bringing generally cooler temperatures and increasing the risk of floods and droughts.
Philippine meteorologists also predict that climate change will result in “stronger and more destructive typhoons.”
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This is bad news for the country's 47,000 public schools. In addition to possible damage to physical buildings, extreme weather events could widen education disparities, as the poorest children suffer the most when they are sent home and forced to rely on online learning. “Every time classes are canceled because of a disaster, it's difficult. I couldn't understand the lessons properly at home,” said Prince Rivera, 15, a student at Bulihan National High School in Bulacan, near the capital Manila.
His school has flooded many times and he was sent home during the recent heatwave. Xerxes de Castro, basic education adviser for Save the Children Philippines, said awareness of climate risks is the first step to making schools resilient to future disasters.
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“I think it's really now that schools, learners and all stakeholders are learning about the impacts of climate change. It's a hard lesson,” de Castro told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
The Philippines, which topped the Global Risk Index for 2022 and 2023 as the world's most disaster-prone country, is hit by around 20 typhoons a year.
According to the World Bank, about 78% of public schools and 96% of students in the Philippines are exposed to multiple hazards. Between 2021 and 2023, about 4,000 schools will be affected by various disasters, disrupting learning for 2 million children.
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Education officials have been using technology to help them cope with extreme weather and natural disasters linked to climate change.
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One of the tools being used is the “Rapid Assessment of Damages Report,” a mobile and web application that teachers can use to provide rapid updates when their school is involved in a disaster.
The tool, introduced by the Ministry of Education in partnership with Save the Children and charity Prudence Foundation, reports on six types of natural disasters, including storms and typhoons.
“Since its nationwide launch in September 2021, RADaR has been used in over 30,000 schools during 28 disasters,” Marlon Matugina, risk mitigation and climate resilience manager at Save the Children Philippines, said in an email.
Heat waves aren't yet included in the app because the impact of extreme heat is difficult to quantify.
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According to data from the app, earthquakes were the most common hazard experienced by schools, while tropical storms caused the most damage.
According to Save the Children, RAdaR has produced more than 154,000 school-level reports to date, “providing new insights into vulnerability to hazards in the education sector.”
Mr. Shago dela Cruz, Rivera's school disaster coordinator, said that before the RADaR app, disaster reporting was slow, but now the app allows them to monitor and record disasters online through the school's closed-circuit television.
“Teachers shouldn't have to go into schools and face danger themselves after a disaster occurs,” Dela Cruz said.
Disaster preparedness is also key. The Department of Education has said it will invest in insulation, shading and ventilation systems, which it hopes will allow students to attend school during hot weather. It also plans to receive 17 billion pesos from the national budget this year to build new classrooms that can withstand high temperatures.
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The World Bank also approved a P30 billion loan to help the Philippines better cope with disasters and climate threats, with a particular focus on schools and hospitals.
The Philippine government said the funds will be used to rebuild schools damaged by natural disasters outside the capital. The project, which will run from 2025 to 2029, is expected to benefit more than 13,000 classrooms and about 740,000 students whose school buildings were damaged in disasters between 2019 and 2023.
For Save the Children, the message is clear: in a hotter, wetter world, vulnerable countries need more support to strengthen vital services like schools – and the changes needed don't just affect buildings.
“Disaster resilience is a complex issue,” de Castro said. “We're not just talking about infrastructure, we're also talking about preparing teachers and students to handle any disaster that may occur in the future.”
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This article has been generated from an automated news agency feed without any modifications to the text.
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