The Philippines (particularly Metro Manila and much of Luzon Island) was visited by a series of destructive typhoons recently. On Sept. 26, Typhoon Ketsana poured 16 inches (40 centimeters) of rain in about six hours, flooding 80 percent of Metro Manila.

Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro said troops, police and civilian volunteers had rescued more than 4,000 people—many clinging to each other on roofs. Pictures also showed people clinging to electric posts and wires, and a video clip showed vehicles floating and swirling in the flood waters. More than 250,000 were driven from their homes, and the government declared a state of "calamity." Ketsana is reputed to be the worst typhoon in more than 40 years.

While Metro Manila was still reeling from Ketsana, with tens of thousands still in evacuation centers, exactly a week later a second typhoon named Parma struck northern Luzon. It dumped an additional 36 inches (92 centimeters) of rain as it hovered for about a week. All together about 55,000 houses were destroyed and over 600 people were killed.

The continuous rains forced administrators to order the release of great volumes of water from three dams in Luzon. As a result, Rocky Baraan, provincial administrator of Pangasinan, said 32 towns and two cities in that area had been flooded, with about 35,000 more people fleeing to evacuation centers.

Meanwhile, the four access roads to Baguio City (a famous mountain resort) had become impassable, causing food supplies to dwindle critically low. By the end of that week, U.S. military helicopters helped by dropping food and other supplies to that area.

One of the most disaster-prone countries in the world

An excerpt from a 2004 briefing regarding the Philippine Disaster Management System presented by Police Superintendent Romulo A. Esteban and Col. Danilo Fabian of the Philippine Army states: "There are about 300 volcanoes in the Philippines...twenty-two (22) are active. An average of 22 tropical cyclones hit the Philippines every year, five (5) of which are destructive."

According to the Red Cross, 5,809,986 Filipinos were killed or injured by natural disasters and man-made calamities in a span of 10 years. "The Philippines is a natural laboratory for floods, typhoons, monsoon rains, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and landslides," Philippine National Red Cross governor Dante Liban said (Philippine Daily Inquirer).

Expensive insurance claims

Lawrence Agcaoili, writing for the Philippine Star, on Oct. 22 reported: "Insurance claims from the damages on real estate properties and motor vehicles caused by [both storms]could reach at least P15 billion [about $320 million], Insurance Commission chief Eduardo Malinis said yesterday…

"The 87-member Philippine Insurers and Reinsurers Association (PIRA) earlier said only 25 percent of all insured motor vehicles in the Philippines have 'Acts of God' coverage. In Metro Manila, only 10 percent or 30,000 of the 300,000 motor vehicles are covered by 'Acts of God' coverage."

"Acts of God"?

Most insurance policies carry an exclusion from claims considered "acts of God." This is a legal term to denote events outside of human control, such as sudden floods or other natural disasters, for which no one can be held responsible.

But Philippine Senator Aquilino Pimentel Jr. is planning to file a bill to remove this exclusion in comprehensive car insurance policies (Maila Ager, Inquirer.net, Oct. 9, 2009). He claims that "the widespread heavy flooding in Metro Manila and nearby provinces was due partly to man-made causes. 'In other words, the non-cleaning of drainages, the precipitate opening of the dams are acts of men, not of God.'"

His point has validity. Besides, I believe there is a substantial error in the common use of the term "acts of God." Why?

"Acts of God" pictures our Creator and benevolent God as ruthless, evil, uncaring, unloving and destructive. This term is obviously contrary to the true nature of God. Scriptures like John 10:10 contrast two beings. One kills and destroys, while the other gives life and gives it more abundantly.

Indeed, there is an invisible spiritual power, who also claims to be "god" and who manifests the very nature of being ruthless, evil, uncaring, unloving and destructive to all of humanity. In 2 Corinthians 4:4 Satan is referred to as "god," and this present age is also described as evil (Galatians 1:4).

If the true God is good, loving and powerful, why does He allow sufferings and calamities? To understand this dilemma, please download or request your free copy of our booklet Why Does God Allow Suffering? And to identify the perpetrator of calamities, please also download or request Is There Really a Devil?