Left Flank

Three of the most populous nations on earth, and two of its democracies are reeling from natural disasters.

Earthquakes took an Olympic break in PRC, where Beijing has seemingly figured out how to deal with such disasters.

But, in India, it's a bureaucratic opera bouffe,

Aid agencies have criticized the government's handling of the crisis saying they should have done more to anticipate the disaster and plan relief operations since the region is hit by monsoon flooding every year.

In Bihar, more than 560,000 people have been evacuated so far, and some 200,000 have been moved to government relief camps, officials said.

Local media reported that the first train carrying Bihar flood victims reached New Delhi on Monday, complaining of having received little or no government help.

«The fields are flooded. There's no way I can sustain my family in the next six months,» Gopal Punia, a farmer from Madhepura was quoted as saying by the Indian Express newspaper.

«I will try to find work here in Delhi.»

Bihar state officials have also said flood refugees would not be welcomed in Patna, the state capital.

«They should return to their respective places by the same trains,» said Raj Kumar Singh, a disaster management official.

And, in the US, it seems the Bush administration has mastered public relations, even if it's still not certain New Orleans is safe.

MARGARET WARNER: Now, General Riley, when you look at -- I mean, we know this storm was a Category 2. And it also, I understand, did not approach -- it was not the kind of direct hit that Katrina leveled at the city, but kind of glanced off to the west.

But what does the response of this system that you've been fortifying all of these years tell you about New Orleans' ability to withstand a Katrina-level storm? How far away are you from that?

MAJ. GEN. DON RILEY: To withstand a Katrina-level storm would take an enormous effort. The system we are now building to withstand the 1 percent-chance storm -- Katrina was about a 400-year storm. This design we're constructing now is about a 100-year storm.

So it will be very substantial, greater than anything they've ever had, but there will still be people at risk. So a large storm like Katrina would still cause major overtopping and flooding. But, again, we're convinced and confident that it would be resistant to any failure due to overtopping.

MARGARET WARNER: But you're only about, what, one-third of the way done on this levee, and floodwall, and pumping rebuilding operation?

MAJ. GEN. DON RILEY: Right, that's correct. What we've done is repair all the damaged areas, and enhanced and reinforced areas that may have been weak, and enhanced other areas. So we've done a substantial amount of work to be able to withstand storms like we saw today, but still they're very vulnerable to larger storms.

Maybe, it's just a lack of press freedom, but Beijing is looking pretty competent these days.

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Typhoon «Frank»-why have an international nomenclature system if the locals insist on anthropomorrphizing disaster their own way-or «Fengshen» allows Quezon some the opportunity for two good points amidst the humanitarian tragedy.

1. Is incompetence the new way to govern?

Matters can only have been compounded by the perpetually ad hoc nature of emergency response measures, and how nothing really functions unless the big bosses are around the lean on their subordinates. It's only been a few weeks since the national government came in for strong criticism over its sluggish handling of the typhoon damage to Pangasinan. And yet it was only yesterday that NDCC convenes in wake of 'Frank'.

This basic reality of what passes for government management in our country, helps explain why whatever the President does, there really is no substitute for her being here, and for her subordinates being here, either. You'd think that our officials, who've borrowed so many pages from the Republican playbook, would have learned the lessons taught by Bush's plummeting in the ratings because of his response to Hurricane Katrina.

2. When is the right to vote a bit just not enough?

Urban poor areas in Manila hardest hit by floods presents a political Catch-22 for local governments, too: humanitarian considerations, and the responsibilities of leadership, requires mayors and governors to dissuade residents from rebuilding in areas notoriously flood-prone (I have read many press accounts from the past, in which local and national leaders intervened, by force if necessary, to prevent residents from rebuilding in areas proven to be disaster-prone, but that was then); but to do so now would mean alienating manageable votes. So nothing will be done, which only means the casualties will pile up the next time, but perhaps not before the next elections.

It's scary to think President Bush's handling of Hurricane Katrina could inspire imitation.

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Allstate Corp. in Maryland is acting responsibly, and Maryland consumers just don't like that:

Insurance companies are retreating from coasts after a series of devastating storms in recent years, including Hurricane Katrina, which swamped Louisiana and Mississippi. Risk modelers, who forecast natural disasters for the insurance industry, have updated their methods to take into account higher sea temperatures.

Allstate, which implemented its policy in June, submitted modeling data in the regulatory case showing that several hurricanes making landfall in Worcester County, Virginia and Delaware could cause hundreds of millions of dollars in damage in Maryland.

Insurers also say that development and higher property values along coasts have increased their exposure to disaster losses. Allstate and other companies say they limit their liability in catastrophe-prone areas to remain financially healthy enough to pay the claims of current customers.

"It has always been our intent to manage catastrophe exposure in a way that avoids disrupting the Maryland insurance market while maintaining our ability to protect our policyholders from a position of financial strength," Allstate spokesman Debbie Pickford said in a statement.

The Katrina debacle showcased a situation where flood insurance was subsidized and not mandatory. yet smaller insurers took an awful beating. Raising rates to reflect the actual risk of living in marginal areas and eliminating the cozy relationship between state agencies and insurers, to make insurance mandatory, is a sane idea.