One of the biggest storms in history devastated the residents of Tacloban and surrounding areas in the Philippines. Capitalism, however, is the actual disaster. It created the crushing poverty that condemned millions to be victims of the ravages of Typhoon Yolanda. Thus capitalism is responsible for the deaths of thousands, and the hunger, disease and homelessness that afflict millions more.
While racist capitalists-imperialists reap billions from super exploiting Filipino workers, they are forced to live in shanty towns built with the flimsiest material. That's the most their miserable average wage of $279 a month can buy.
Even before the typhoon, roads and bridges were in disrepair. Many in rural areas had little access to electricity.
Public buildings, also built cheaply, couldn't withstand the storm. The storm surge entered a stadium to which people were evacuated and many evacuees drowned. Millions are without food, water, shelter or medicine. Their anger is growing.
Early warning and mass evacuations from high risk areas and building concrete bunkers that could withstand super-storms could have saved thousands of lives. But capitalism is organized for profit and control, not for workers' safety. A government spokesman said, "Our priority right now is sending out security (police) to deal with violence." (read: to protect the bosses' private property). To help this effort, the US has sent 100 marines. 2000 more are on the way.

Capitalist production for profit: main cause of global warming and super-typhoons
Two years in a row, the world's strongest typhoons barreled through the Philippines. Three years in a row, a destructive storm deviated from the usual path taken by typhoons, striking communities seldom hit by them before. Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) was 3.5 times bigger than Katrina, which devastated New Orleans in 2005. It packed winds of 195 mph, gusts up to 230 mph and a 14-foot storm surge which engulfed the city of Tacloban and outlying areas.
This typhoon occurred just before the conference on global climate change —where neither the US or Chinese imperialists nor the capitalist rulers of Brazil or India will agree to curb carbon emissions. Carbon emissions are causing the average global temperature to rise, warming the oceans. Since typhoons gain energy from heat from the ocean, this means there will be more class 4 and 5 typhoons (hurricanes).
The capitalist-imperialists compete for market share: whoever produces the cheapest wins the market. They therefore refuse to spend the money to cut carbon emissions, because carbon is the cheapest form of energy. Japan has reopened its nuclear power plants, even after the Fukushima disaster, because nuclear energy is the second cheapest. As usual, capitalism sacrifices workers' lives and the environment for profit. Only communist revolution can end this capitalist catastrophe.

The bosses can plan for war, but not for workers' safety
Instead of investing in infrastructure for workers' safety, the Philippine government has allocated $12 million for the initial groundwork for a naval base in Oyster Bay. This opens directly on the South China Sea, only 150 kilometers from the hotly contested, potentially hydrocarbon- rich Spratly Islands.
As tensions flared with China, the Philippine government backed a $1.8 billion military modernization program, and entered in negotiations with the US over allowing it to deploy more forces to Philippine military bases. The US is building command posts near Oyster Bay to monitor the South China Sea.

Only communism can meet workers' needs
The greatest need of the masses of Filipino workers is to eliminate the capitalist profit system which is responsible for their deaths, homelessness, and poverty. Communist revolution must and will destroy disastrous capitalism. In communist society, the whole working class will mobilize to produce, using safe, clean energy to promote healthy people in a healthy environment. In places prone to natural disasters, the workers will decide collectively through their Party the best course for a safe environment: building safe buildings, bunkers, high sea walls, secure elevated housing, or moving whole populations out of harm's way.
Today there are 3 billion people in the world for whom capitalism has no jobs. But their labor power can be a key resource for the international working class to build a society to meet all workers' needs. Mobilized for communism, the masses will mobilize as many people as needed to prevent disasters and, when they occur, to supply and build what is needed. Communist society will mobilize people to plan, build and produce internationally only for workers' wellbeing.