Text of my ‘When Worlds Collide’ column published in Ceylon Today Sunday broadsheet newspaper on 1 December 2013
I felt a sense of Déjà vu as I spent the past week in the Philippines witnessing how the archipelago nation is struggling with the trail of destruction left by super typhoon Haiyan (local name: Yolanda). The aftermath is uncannily similar to what we in Sri Lanka went through following the Indian Ocean tsunami of December 2004.
The atmospheric disturbance that hit them on 8 November 2013, which was accompanied by tsunami-type sea waves, is their deadliest natural disaster on record. By November 25, the official death toll exceeded 5,600 with another 1,700 missing. Nearly 26,000 people were injured, and over a million homes destroyed or damaged.
In all, more than 11 million Filipinos have been affected in one way or another. The total economic cost, still being assessed, is likely…
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