Uwan Fun-wong, Paolo Matmo Tino Kalmaegi, and Nando Ragasa. These are names that could’ve been given to a new life, yet they were attached to forces that take them. Typhoon season in the Philippines and the Pacific area has affected countless lives, taken away thousands of homes, and remained a constant threat to the livelihoods of citizens who don’t even contribute to the mass carbon emissions feeding the storms that rain down on them.

Concerns have risen to such a degree that Filipinos have begun to speak up against the actions of major corporations, such as Shell, which have continuously remained a driving factor in the rise of carbon emissions since the [1950’s]https://carbonmajors.org/Entity/Shell-149). Filipinos are forced to pack up their grief and compartmentalise their worries in order to take on a major corporation. They have taken Shell to court, filing under claims that the corporation has violated [the Philippines right to compensation in the wake of a disaster] (https://www.climatechangenews.com/2025/10/23/philippines-storm-victims-to-seek-damages-from-shell-in-unprecedented-climate-claim/).

This act is the first civil claim and action recorded in history to establish a legal foothold against companies violating their promised efforts to phase out fossil fuels. In September 2015, the issue was filed before the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) of the Philippines, resulting in the formation of the National Inquiry on Climate Change, proving that with enough collective action, Philippines is paving the way to holding companies accountable for their actions, which have long been excused under the guise of profit.

A disaster this big would not have led to so many deaths, had there been sufficient resources to support the Filipinos caught in the many typhoons of this year. Deaths resulting from Fung-wong were not only instantaneous, but also climbed higher even after the typhoon had passed. Its repercussions are attributed to flash floods, landslides, exposed electrical wires, and many collapsed houses. The devastation alone caused by Tino left some Filipinos even more anxious about the approaching storm, Uwan. Residents worried about the strength of Fung-wong and the safety of their young children, since evacuees’ conditions were perilous enough, without taking account of their houses made of wood and flimsy materials, and residences close to the sea.

Not only was the physical and psychological toll more severe compared to the previous typhoons in the Philippine’s history, but the sequential typhoon patterns has also complicated response efforts, as it backlogged resources spent trying to assist those affected by the prior storm. This led to severe compounded damage; Fung-wong struck while the country was still processing Kalmaegi’s destruction. The Filipino government declared a state of calamity across the country after Typhoon Tino (Kalmaegi) and in preparation for the coming storm Uwan (Fung-wong). This declaration empowered government agencies to access emergency funds in order to speed up essential deliveries since Uwan (Fung-wong) forced the suspension of rescue operations.

On top of that, the Philippines is a country geographically vulnerable to such severe climate calamities, due to its location near the nexus where tropical weather systems tend to form, heightening the probability of hurricanes hitting the Philippines. Approximately 20 tropical cyclones form in that region every year, with about half of them affecting the country directly. This year, the two super typhoons, Nando ( Ragasa) and Uwan (Fung-wong), hit the Philippines just as representatives from governments around the world were gathering in Belem, Brazil, for the 30th annual United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30). Across the continent, Indigenous communities in Brazil are fighting a similar battle, one where the main message is clear: the natural world cannot sustain human activity at the rate that it is increasingly and consumingly continuing, and it has shown signs of extreme natural disorder, which can only be ignored for so long. It is countries like the Philippines that then have to face the consequences of such global actions.