The gruesome images of typhoon devastation in the Philippines have brought back chilling memories of the 2004 tsunami that killed more than 5,000 people in Thailand alone.
Relief operations are now racing against time to bring food, water and other basic necessities to the typhoon victims in the face of communications and transport breakdown. Yet there is still much more work to be done to help people pick up the pieces, rebuild their lives, their houses and their towns.
When the tsunami struck, Thailand received considerable support from around the world to cope with our biggest natural disaster. We must do the same to help our neighbour in its time of need.
Super Typhoon Haiyan is one of the most powerful ever recorded. Thousands of people are feared dead, while millions of have been affected by the typhoon. The scary thing is, if we think Typhoon Haiyan is bad, there is worse to come. And next time, it could come our way.
Climate experts are in agreement that deadly Haiyan is evidence of increasingly intense storms caused by rising sea levels and higher temperatures in the Pacific Ocean.
In short, the crux of the problem is global warming.
Some argue, however, that the higher casualties and the extent of destruction from recent storms come not solely from the power of the storms, but also from overpopulation, poverty and poor buildings in vulnerable areas along coastlines. Their solution is to build stronger cities that are resistant to typhoons and earthquakes, with better infrastructures and more effective warning systems.
Such an approach, though practical and necessary, is too narrow to cope with looming global disasters caused by climate change.
But policy makers love these short-term solutions. To battle tsunamis and storm surges, they demand higher sea walls, strong buildings and roads. For flood prevention, dams are their answer. These projects give politicians something quick and concrete to show the voters. They also make them richer from kickbacks. So the bigger the construction project, the better.
Thailand is no exception.
In the past decade, the country has experienced many natural disasters as a result of climate change. Like other countries, Thailand is well aware that comprehensive policies to cut greenhouse gases are necessary to reduce the frequency and impact of extreme weather. It also knows it should protect the environment and biodiversity in order to maintain food security, which is key to poverty alleviation. Yet, it has chosen to do just the opposite.
The case in point is the government's 350-billion-baht water management scheme.
Touted as a flood-prevention scheme following the 2011 flood disaster, it is actually a package of big dams, elevated roads, and huge floodway that will destroy the country's forests and ecosystems on a huge scale.
The government's promise to reduce fossil fuel use has been betrayed by its populist first-car buyer programme. Its vow to support green farming has been rescinded and replaced by the rice-pledging scheme, which drastically increases the use of chemical fertiliser and relies on machine-powered irrigation and farm equipment.
Meanwhile, the government turns a blind eye to vast land-clearing in tropical forests for corn and oil palm plantations backed by the agro industry. These environmentally destructive schemes accelerate global warming. Unless they are stopped, we are inviting our own tragedies.