Multi hazardous environment- Philippines
Hazard Effect of Hazard Example of Hazard
Tropical Approx 20 typhoons enter the Philippine Typhoon Haiyan- see notes
storms Area of Responsibility yearly of which five
will be destructive. ‘The most exposed
country in the world to tropical storms’
Typhoons can hit the Philippines any time
of the year, June to September, August
most active month
Typhoons move east to west across the
country heading north as they go.
Frequently make landfall on the islands of
Eastern Visayas e.g. Typhoon Haiyan,
Tacloban and northern Luzon
The southern island and region of
Mindanao is largely free of typhoons due
to its proximity to the equator reducing
the Coriolis effect meaning tropical storms
cannot form.
Earthquake Common but not most destructive The most devastating in
s Fairly common occurrence in the recent years have been:
Philippines. Between 2000-13, there were o 1976 off Mindanao (Moro
17 earthquakes with a magnitude of at Gulf): the earthquake
least 5.6, which have caused numerous (magnitude 7.9) caused
deaths and damaged many buildings tsunamis which inundated
the western shore of
Mindanao killing up to 8,000
people
o 1990 Luzon: (magnitude
7.8) killed over 2400 people
and caused widespread
ground rupturing and soil
liquefaction. Transform
element of plate boundary
under Luzon. 120k+
displaced, 100k+ at least
partially destroyed buildings,
P15 bn in damage
o 2013 Bohol: a magnitude
7.2 earthquake which killed
over 200, injured 800, and
caused damage to tens of
thousands of buildings.
Volcanic Has 23 active volcanoes but only 3 with Mayon
activity violent eruptions. * Most active, having erupted
nearly 50 times in the last 400
years, with the most
destructive event coming in
1814. The last eruption was in
2023.
* Mayon is noted for its lahars,
with volcanic ash and loose
tropical soil mixing with
rainfall from common tropical
storms to produce rivers of
mud
Pinatubo
* Erupted violently in 1991,
2nd largest eruption on the
planet in the 20th century
* 50,000 people live within
40km. Early warnings and
evacuations saved at least
, 5,000 people in 1991
* Explosion so violent that is
hurled gases, ash and steam
into the upper atmosphere
where they continued to
affect global temperatures for
at least 2 years (average
global temperature down
0.5oC)
* Followed by Typhoon Yunya,
with very heavy rainfall
combining with volcanic ash
to produce deadly lahars.
Final death toll around 850
Flooding Flooding (from heavy rain, 1000-4000mm The December 2010 floods in
annually, some eastern coast over 5000, Eastern Philippines following
sheltered areas to west around 1000)- heavy rainfall, which resulted in
common, often every year, second in displacing 450,000 in 19
frequency to typhoons. Huge displacement provinces, killing 25.
but lower deaths
Mass Can be devasting and occur due to the 2006 Leyte mudslide up to 1100
movements country’s combination of steep terrain, heavy killed, 375 homes and school
tropical rainfall, and volcanic activity (leading were buried under mud up to 30
to lahars). feet deep.
Tsunamis Less frequent but extremely high impact when 1976 off Mindanao (Moro Gulf):
they do occur, destroy almost everything. the earthquake (magnitude 7.9)
Caused by earthquakes so less important caused tsunamis which
overall inundated the western shore of
Mindanao killing up to 8,000
people
Drought Caused by El Nino, primarily economic and Luzon Island drought of 2005,
agricultural hazard rather than cause of whereby a reduction in rainfall
death. decreased river discharge, which
decreased economic activity in
the area due to a lack of HEP
Problems of sustainable management of hazards
Problem Impact
Limited Widespread poverty, particularly in the rural south, fundamentally
economic undermines the Philippines’ ability to manage hazard risk at every level.
capacity and * The country cannot afford to:
governance o Build stable, hazard-proof infrastructure
constraints o Provide educational programmes on disaster preparedness
o Distribute mitigation and disaster kits to the population
o Respond quickly and at the scale required when disasters strike
Funds consumed by recovery leave little to nothing available for
mitigation and protection ahead of the next hazard- cycle.
Centralised, top-down administrative system concentrates decision-
making in government hands rather than empowering local
communities- responses are often slow, poorly targeted and unevenly
distributed.
Persistent emphasis on post-disaster relief and short-term preparedness
such as forecasting and evacuation, rather than on long-term mitigation
and economic recovery support.
Hazard The Philippines experiences multiple major hazard events annually,
frequency including typhoons, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, floods and
overwhelmin landslides.
g recovery * Typhoons have the largest impact and should receive the greatest
capacity focus, followed by flooding, which is often a direct consequence of
typhoon activity.
New hazards consistently arrive before recovery from previous ones is
Hazard Effect of Hazard Example of Hazard
Tropical Approx 20 typhoons enter the Philippine Typhoon Haiyan- see notes
storms Area of Responsibility yearly of which five
will be destructive. ‘The most exposed
country in the world to tropical storms’
Typhoons can hit the Philippines any time
of the year, June to September, August
most active month
Typhoons move east to west across the
country heading north as they go.
Frequently make landfall on the islands of
Eastern Visayas e.g. Typhoon Haiyan,
Tacloban and northern Luzon
The southern island and region of
Mindanao is largely free of typhoons due
to its proximity to the equator reducing
the Coriolis effect meaning tropical storms
cannot form.
Earthquake Common but not most destructive The most devastating in
s Fairly common occurrence in the recent years have been:
Philippines. Between 2000-13, there were o 1976 off Mindanao (Moro
17 earthquakes with a magnitude of at Gulf): the earthquake
least 5.6, which have caused numerous (magnitude 7.9) caused
deaths and damaged many buildings tsunamis which inundated
the western shore of
Mindanao killing up to 8,000
people
o 1990 Luzon: (magnitude
7.8) killed over 2400 people
and caused widespread
ground rupturing and soil
liquefaction. Transform
element of plate boundary
under Luzon. 120k+
displaced, 100k+ at least
partially destroyed buildings,
P15 bn in damage
o 2013 Bohol: a magnitude
7.2 earthquake which killed
over 200, injured 800, and
caused damage to tens of
thousands of buildings.
Volcanic Has 23 active volcanoes but only 3 with Mayon
activity violent eruptions. * Most active, having erupted
nearly 50 times in the last 400
years, with the most
destructive event coming in
1814. The last eruption was in
2023.
* Mayon is noted for its lahars,
with volcanic ash and loose
tropical soil mixing with
rainfall from common tropical
storms to produce rivers of
mud
Pinatubo
* Erupted violently in 1991,
2nd largest eruption on the
planet in the 20th century
* 50,000 people live within
40km. Early warnings and
evacuations saved at least
, 5,000 people in 1991
* Explosion so violent that is
hurled gases, ash and steam
into the upper atmosphere
where they continued to
affect global temperatures for
at least 2 years (average
global temperature down
0.5oC)
* Followed by Typhoon Yunya,
with very heavy rainfall
combining with volcanic ash
to produce deadly lahars.
Final death toll around 850
Flooding Flooding (from heavy rain, 1000-4000mm The December 2010 floods in
annually, some eastern coast over 5000, Eastern Philippines following
sheltered areas to west around 1000)- heavy rainfall, which resulted in
common, often every year, second in displacing 450,000 in 19
frequency to typhoons. Huge displacement provinces, killing 25.
but lower deaths
Mass Can be devasting and occur due to the 2006 Leyte mudslide up to 1100
movements country’s combination of steep terrain, heavy killed, 375 homes and school
tropical rainfall, and volcanic activity (leading were buried under mud up to 30
to lahars). feet deep.
Tsunamis Less frequent but extremely high impact when 1976 off Mindanao (Moro Gulf):
they do occur, destroy almost everything. the earthquake (magnitude 7.9)
Caused by earthquakes so less important caused tsunamis which
overall inundated the western shore of
Mindanao killing up to 8,000
people
Drought Caused by El Nino, primarily economic and Luzon Island drought of 2005,
agricultural hazard rather than cause of whereby a reduction in rainfall
death. decreased river discharge, which
decreased economic activity in
the area due to a lack of HEP
Problems of sustainable management of hazards
Problem Impact
Limited Widespread poverty, particularly in the rural south, fundamentally
economic undermines the Philippines’ ability to manage hazard risk at every level.
capacity and * The country cannot afford to:
governance o Build stable, hazard-proof infrastructure
constraints o Provide educational programmes on disaster preparedness
o Distribute mitigation and disaster kits to the population
o Respond quickly and at the scale required when disasters strike
Funds consumed by recovery leave little to nothing available for
mitigation and protection ahead of the next hazard- cycle.
Centralised, top-down administrative system concentrates decision-
making in government hands rather than empowering local
communities- responses are often slow, poorly targeted and unevenly
distributed.
Persistent emphasis on post-disaster relief and short-term preparedness
such as forecasting and evacuation, rather than on long-term mitigation
and economic recovery support.
Hazard The Philippines experiences multiple major hazard events annually,
frequency including typhoons, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, floods and
overwhelmin landslides.
g recovery * Typhoons have the largest impact and should receive the greatest
capacity focus, followed by flooding, which is often a direct consequence of
typhoon activity.
New hazards consistently arrive before recovery from previous ones is
