The floodwaters around the deluged Philippine capital Manila have yet to fully subside after the onslaught of two successive tropical storms. But the blame game over the response to the crisis, and the nation's lack of preparedness, is rippling outward.

In total, more than 700 people have died and at least 6 million have been displaced, first by tropical storm Ketsana, which reached Manila on Sept. 26, and then by typhoon Parma, which circled for a week over northern Luzon island and inundated communities, roads, and fields in the country's breadbasket. Losses to agriculture are estimated at $400 million.

On Wednesday, President Gloria Arroyo described the Philippines as a victim of climate change and said she would seek as much as $1 billion in foreign aid to pay for rehabilitation. A donor conference is expected by early December. The UN has launched a separate $74 million relief appeal.

But questions have been raised about the extent to which hillside deforestation, watershed urbanization, and the growth of riverside slums had undermined Manila's disaster management. Critics say the politicians pleading for aid have ignored repeated warnings of the capital's vulnerability to tropical storms.

The result may be less a parable of climate change – some experts say extreme weather events are increasing as a result of global warming – than the failings of successive elected governments to heed the advice of urban planners.

"A country that doesn't protect its people before disasters has no business panhandling after," wrote Juan Mercado, a columnist in the Philippine Inquirer.

The row may have political consequences as the Philippines prepares to elect a new president next May. Ms. Arroyo, who took office in 2001, isn't eligible to run again. Her defense secretary, Gilbert Teodoro, who has declared his candidacy, chairs a disaster coordinating council that has been criticized over the sluggish flow of aid to storm victims, as well as the continued inundation of some communities.

In a national poll taken before the storms struck and released Wednesday, Mr. Teodoro trailed far behind Sen. Benigno Aquino, who was the choice of 60 percent of respondents. Only 4 percent of respondents named him as their preferred choice.

Mr. Aquino is the largely untested son of popular former President Corazon Aquino, who died in July and is credited for steering the nation to democracy after the fall of dictator Ferdinand Marcos in 1986. The second placed candidate, Sen. Manuel Villar, polled 37 percent in the survey. Former President Joseph Estrada, who was ousted in 2001 and put on trial for corruption, came third.

Teodoro's prominence in the relief operations may boost his poll numbers if voters feel gratitude for what aid did come their way, says Steven Rood, the country director for the Asia Foundation, a US nonprofit. It could go the other way, though, if the cleanup effort falters and victims blame the administration.

Last weekend, Tropical Storm Ketsana (local name "Ondoy") pounded Manila and nearby areas of the Philippines with a month's worth of rain in just a few hours, resulting in floods that covered 80% of the city with as much as 20 feet of water. The typhoon left in its wake nearly 300 people dead and hundreds of thousands displaced.

We're very saddened by the losses the Filipino people have sustained during this calamity. To help you stay up to date on the disaster and contribute to the relief efforts, we've put up a Help for Typhoon Ondoy Victims in the Philippines page that contains the latest news from local media outlets, lists of verified donation sites and emergency hotlines, and a volunteer-maintained map of persons needing rescue.

Filipinos have been posting videos of the flooding and its aftermath on YouTube. You can also visualize the overflows along main rivers and bays in Google Earth with this kmz file.

If you're familiar with Google Maps and would like to get involved in the effort to map missing persons, relief centers and road conditions, you can email the volunteer team at typhoonondoy@googlegroups.com. We will continue to update the page with the latest information and imagery, and keep your eye on the Lat Long blog for updates about disaster relief efforts.

Last weekend, Tropical Storm Ketsana (local name "Ondoy") pounded Manila and nearby areas of the Philippines with a month's worth of rain in just a few hours, resulting in floods that covered 80% of the city with as much as 20 feet of water. The typhoon left in its wake nearly 300 people dead and hundreds of thousands displaced.

We're very saddened by the losses the Filipino people have sustained during this calamity. To help you stay up to date on the disaster and contribute to the relief efforts, we've put up a Help for Typhoon Ondoy Victims in the Philippines page that contains the latest news from local media outlets, lists of verified donation sites and emergency hotlines, and a volunteer-maintained map of persons needing rescue.

Filipinos have been posting videos of the flooding and its aftermath on YouTube. You can also visualize the overflows along main rivers and bays in Google Earth with this kmz file.

If you're familiar with Google Maps and would like to get involved in the effort to map missing persons, relief centers and road conditions, you can email the volunteer team at typhoonondoy@googlegroups.com. We will continue to update the page with the latest information and imagery, and keep your eye on the Lat Long blog for updates about disaster relief efforts.

THINGS YOU CAN DO TO PROTECT THE FOREST

Planting Trees with HIV/AIDS Children The Foundation supported by the XL Results Foundation has coordinated and sponsored a tree planting event for children with HIV/AIDS from the Human Development Foundation’s Mercy Center in , with the Sanook My Saturday organization. The event took place on Saturday August 26, The idea of the children planting a tree that will go on living and contributing positively to the environment for many years to come was inspiring for them and made a great day out. Thailand's Royal Forestry Department assisted with the day and provided their Eco-Green Park within along with seedlings and facilities. Click on the picture to see photos of the day. XL Media Selects as its Nominated Charity XL Media, a certified Social Enterprise under the XL Results Foundation SEA Program has nominated the Plant-a-Tree-Today Foundation, as its nominated cause. XL Media has pledged significant funding and with every new print run of XL Magazine, XL Media will plant trees to cover ten times the paper it uses. Click on the picture to read more. Mixes with Tree Planting Its encouraging to see companies understand the importance of trees, especially in reducing climate change and committing to at least partially offsetting their emissions - or emissions generated by their business. In this regard, Swiss furniture manufacturer is leading the way. According to website their goal is to "reduce the CO2 impact of our business operations. One of the ways will be to plant trees each year to help offset the CO2 impact of travel to and from our stores." Click on the picture for the full story. Climate Change: An Inconvenient Truth Al Gore's high impact film premiers in Bangkok As unprecedented floods hit Chiang Mai and several other areas recently, a new film premiered in Bangkok that serves as a warning of future weather catastrophes if human beings don't address the problem of climate change. "An Inconvenient Truth", featuring former United States vice president Al Gore, examines the possible consequences of global warming and future weather-related disasters for mankind. The film is currently screening at Apex. For the full story click on the picture.

WHY FORESTS ARE IMPORTANT?

In the good old times, rain forests were one of the main symbols of environmentalism. They're so pretty and diverse. (You know, I am an old environmentalist who has participated - together with Greenpeace guys - in weekly voluntary events to help the trees in the Bohemian Forest and elsewhere!) That old environmental problem was arguably captivating but it has never gained the political power of the contemporary greenhouse religion, especially because of its local (and distant) character. People may be just revealing that even the old problem was based on a deep misunderstanding of the internal mechanisms of Nature and Her inherent strength.I guess that the higher concentration of CO2, the gas we call life, is contributing to the fast expansion of the new forests, too.
Needless to say, those green people who will never give up the idea to regulate everything use trash-talk to deny the importance of secondary forests and their palms, lizards, and ants for the forest budget and the diversity budget of the Earth. But many other people are beginning to see the light: the number 50 simply can't be neglected relatively to the number 1. The environmental zeal is genuinely punishing the local economies in Latin America. It's time for rational people to take over and to use the term green bigots for the green bigots.
Nature can surely get rid of people's impact very quickly. The real question is whether the people, especially the poor ones,are able to preserve their space in influence.