SEVERAL weeks of persistent rains and flooding, mostly in Luzon but also affecting other areas of the Philippines, have revealed that the government remains woefully unprepared to respond to the effects of El Niño, despite nearly a year’s worth of reliable warnings that the periodic climate phenomenon will occur and is likely to be more intense than usual. The worst effects of El Niño are still to come, and will not be solved by the government giving mere lip service to the possibility of adverse impacts, and then reacting to them late and in an inadequate way.