Their focus now is how to win elections next year.
Sorry about your area man, hope the water's gone down by now.
Politicians aren't rewarded for stopping floods from killing villagers (no headlines, no thanks). Rather, they get karma points for being there in the thick of it once the flood hits (boots, rice bags handed out in front of camera crews) before the election. It all adds up to that one line above. Do we want politicians to go out of their way to prevent floods? If so, they'll have to invest money now in drainage and water storage capacity, seeds for replanting flooded cropland, cooling centers, etc. Of course there's no glory in it if it works, no drama, headlines, heroes. And if it fails, still none of the kudos. Guess most governments make their move based on where karma points can be cashed.
El Niño can be predicted months in advance, and the consequences expected. There's no excuse for not being prepared for its effects. NOAA has been warning about this particular phenomenon for months, and both FAO and WFP have moved to provide food assistance in the most affected areas before the peak of El Niño. A government caught unprepared in 2027 made that choice. Bad luck has nothing to do with it.
Nothing serious yet here because as it is getting hot, it is later raining and everywhere cool again.
This is worrying considering the peak is expected around now until early next year. And the 450k number in OP is heat deaths only. Heat doesn't knock down buildings like the floods Die_empty described, it kills old people quietly inside hot rooms, so it barely makes news. Which means it barely moves votes either.
Your "buy enough food" advice only works if you're not living from paycheck to paycheck, and when governments block the export of key foods (as they did with rice in 2008), you're only safe if you've stockpiled ahead of time. Whoever couldn't stock up, mostly the poor, is left to bear the price hikes caused by panic buying. Stashing food away can work for the middle class, but the poor have to rely on state intervention.
Anyone here actually seen their government do the boring prevention stuff this year?