Ben D. Kritz
SUPER Typhoon Yolanda—which even here seems to be destined to be better-remembered by its international name Haiyan—was, to put it mildly, an unusual storm. Because of its unprecedented intensity, international media focus was on the Philippines well before the typhoon’s landfall on Friday morning, and perhaps because of that attention various levels of the government (with one glaring exception, which I’ll get to in a moment) were exceptionally proactive in attempting to prepare the country for the impending calamity.