#NowPH climate action generates buzz on Yolanda anniversary

Bea Orante

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#NowPH climate action generates buzz on Yolanda anniversary
Thousands shared their thoughts and stories during the #NowPH climate action conversation marking the 2nd anniversary of super typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan)

 

MANILA, Philippines – Led by #NowPH Pillars, members of the online community came together on Twitter to discuss lessons from Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) and share their pledges to combat climate change.

During the online conversation on November 8, 2015, more than 7,000 unique authors joined, generating 15,000 tweets – excluding retweets – and 107 million impressions, or views, on Twitter.

When the data is inclusive of those from October 27, 2015 until November 8, however, the total impressions becomes 274,721,873 and the number of unique authors is 10,919 with 24,872 tweets excluding retweets. This means that in the span of one day, the number of impressions almost doubled .

Most of the discussion revolved around disaster and risk reduction progams after Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) devastated the Eastern Visayas region and parts of Cebu and Palawan. 

Prompted by MovePH’s question, “How can you help prevent disasters like Yolanda from happening again?”, Senator Loren Legarda responded by listing government policies like planning based on “vulnerability risk assessments” and “education and information [campaigns].”

Legarda also cited San Francisco town in Camotes Islands, which effectively used the early warning system, as an example to follow in the country. (READ: San Francisco: The island where all survived)

The youth was also cited as having an important role to play in climate action because of their access to social media, an asset that could be used in learning and promoting information and programs on disaster and risk reduction.

Rappler’s social media head Stacy de Jesus and MovePH Executive Director Rupert Ambil II shared their thoughts on youth participation. They pointed out the need for a combination of online and offline action.

Pillars for climate action

Climate action pillars Alden Richards, Gloc 9, Sam Gogna also known as Sam Y.G., and Dingdong Dantes used their celebrity power to promote #NowPH and climate action to their fans and the public.

Richards’ top tweet was of his individual pledge, which had 5,583 retweets and 16,077 likes as of this posting.

Gogna’s top tweet linked his audience to a video on #NowPH’s Facebook page featuring the #NowPH ambassadors.

Jinky’s story

A highlight of the conversation involved Yolanda survivors who shared their stories of recovery and resilience. 

Jinky, who lost her mother to the typhoon, recounted her fear as the waters rose and her subsequent sadness and loneliness as she tried to live a normal life following her mother’s death. (READ: Never the Same Again)

Gloc 9 and Dingdong Dantes responded to Jinky’s story by renewing the call for progress in the Paris talks as well as encouraging others to continue hoping for a better future. 

Pledges

Throughout the day, tweets came in with various people’s pledges. Many focused on individual action, while others called for greater accountability in the government, especially in the run-up to the 2016 elections.

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Tell us

Be a part of the campaign by submitting your pledge to #NowPH and sharing your thoughts and stories on fighting climate change on Rappler’s self-publishing platform, “X“, or in the comments section below. – Rappler.com

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