Multi Hazardous Zone - The Philippines

• Examples of Earthquake Events in the Philippines

  In the Philippines there have been 17 earthquakes with a magnitude of at least 6 that have caused numerous deaths and caused lots of damage to houses and infrastructure:

  • 1976 off Mindanao (Moro Gulf):
  • 1990 Luzon:
  • 2013 Bohol:
• 1976 off Mindanao (Moro Gulf) Earthquake in the Philippines

  • This earthquake with a magnitude of 7.9 caused tsunamis which inundated the western shore of Mindanao killing up to 8,000 people.
• 1990 Luzon earthquake in the Philippines

  Magnitude of 7.8 killed over 1,600 people and caused widespread ground rupturing and soil liquefaction
• 2013 Bohol earthquake in the Philippines

  A magnitude 7.2 earthquake which killed over 200, injured 800 and caused damage to tens of thousands of buildings.
• Volcanic Events in the Philippines

  Mayon, Pinatubo and Taal
• Mayon Volcanic eruption summary

  Most active volcano having erupted nearly 50 times in the last 40 years. The last eruption was in 2018. Mayon is noted for its lahars, with volcanic ash mixing with heavy rainfall from tropical storms to produce rivers of mud.
• Pinatubo Volcanic Eruption Summary

  • Erupted violently in 1991, second largest eruption in 20th century. Pinatubo can be deadly as large numbers of people live in the vicinity of the volcano (500,000 people within 40 Km).  
  • Early warnings and evacuations saved at least 5000 people in 1991. 
  • The explosion was so violent that it hurled gases, ash and steam into the upper atmosphere (average global temperature went down by 0.5oC for 2 years) 
  • This was followed by Typhoon Yuna with very heavy rainfall combining with volcanic ash to produce deadly lahars. Final death toll was around 850.
• Taal Volcanic Eruption Summary

  •  One of the most active volcanoes in the country, having 33 eruptions noted on the historical record. All of these eruptions have come from a volcano that sits in the middle of a crater lake formed when a huge explosion in prehistoric times formed the caldera of Taal. In the historical record it is thought that Taal has been responsible for 5000 to 6000 deaths as it lies close to populated areas. 
• Tropical Storms (Typhoon Mangkhut) In the Philippenes

  • Typhoon Mangkhut was in September 2018 and it was the strongest typhoon since Haiyan in 2013. It was the 3rd strongest cyclone worldwide in 2018 and caused 127 deaths and cost US $627 million. 
  • 3 million people affected in worst hit area
  • 11 million further south were hit by flooding so couldn’t return to rice farm
• What links are there between the hazards affecting the Philippines? Which hazards occurred in quick succession?

  • Earthquakes and volcanic eruptions usually occur in quick succession as they both occur due to faults on plate boundaries. 
  • Earthquakes can hit close together due to aftershocks 
  • Volcanic eruptions mixed with a tropical storm can cause lahars. 
  • Volcanic eruptions can release gases, gas and steam into the air which can affect global temperatures and atmospheric processes which can affect the severity and more frequent tropical storms.
  • Earthquakes offshore can cause Tsunamis
• How does cheap housing heighten the risk of vulnerability to hazards?

  • People who cannot afford to buy formal housing will build on undesirable land, which will be built of steep hills or low lying land or other unsafe areas. Therefore, if earthquakes, storms and volcanic eruptions happen, housing is likely to be destroyed as it is poor quality land making them more vulnerable. 
  • Over the past decades, Filipinos have flocked to risky low-lying areas, havens for cheap crowded housing where there is a clear link between poverty and vulnerability to natural disasters
• How does rapid urbanisation heighten the risk of vulnerability to hazards?

  • Rapid urbanisation has exacerbated the problem, with its tightly packed flimsy constructed housing and the environmental degradation such as deforestation has added to the problem because the steep, unprotected slopes lead to rapid run-off, flooding and the potential for landslides.
• How successful were the responses to Typhoon Haiyan? (successful)

  Airport was quickly repaired as a centre for relief operations and in the long-term cyclone shelters were built to evacuate people in coastal areas.
• How successful were the responses to the eruption of Mount Mayon? (Successful)

  • 74,000 evacuated due to PHIVOlCs warning systems, The Filipino government committed $1 million for a ‘cash for work’ programme as well as providing packages for 50,000 families for ten days. They also provided food packages to evacuees for 100 days. They have a warning level rated 1-5 which the local people are taught about so they know what each number means and what they need to do if an alert is issued.
• How successful were the responses to the eruption of Pinatubo? (Successful)

  • Early warnings and evacuations probably saved at least 5000 people in 1991. 
  • The Philippine National Red Cross, and other Red Cross organisations, has started community programmes aiming to reduce the impacts of disasters by encouraging people to collaborate in protecting their lives. 
  • Initiating mitigation measures which could be physical, health related or planning tools
  • Cooperation with gov bodies in order to gain financial support for mitigation measures to ensure that the programmes have long term stability. 
• Why has the Philippines responses to natural hazards been unsuccessful?

  • Recent spending of government money no been wise
  • 70% disaster spending on long term. 30% short term 
  • Responsibilities fall to local governments as the county us made up of 7600 islands and the money is not always wisely spent 
  • Resources are stretched between islands
  • Hazards come one after the other so hard to recover in time 
• How successful was the responses to the Mount Mayon eruption? (unsuccessful)

  • 86,052 people affected, $3.4 million of damages to agriculture affecting more than 10,000 farmers
• How successful were the responses to Typhoon Haiyan? (Unsuccessful)

  • Area by coast is low lying or steep hills  exposed. Poorly constructed houses were destroyed easily and the 5m storm surge was not communicated to the people. Overall 6300 people killed and 90% of Tacloban city destroyed leaving 2 million homeless. 
• Preparation for natural hazards in the Philippines

  • Training local volunteers in disaster management 
  • Emphasis on post disaster relief and short term preparedness forecasting and evacuation 
  • Getting information to people
• Mitigation for natural hazards in the Philippines

  • Determining mitigation methods based on land mapping -> could be physical (sea walls) health, (water sanitation) and planning (evacuation). 
  • Cooperation with governmental bodies to ensure financial support for mitigation measures and ensure programs have long term sustainability
• Issues of prediction of natural hazards in the Philippines

  Typhoons becoming more severe, the harder to predict due to climate change
• Adaptation for natural hazards in the Philippines

  • Rebuilding houses away from low lying land 
• Summary of the Philippines being a multi hazardous zone

  The Philippines is hit by many different natural disasters so they have had to adapt so they can prepare so they can mitigate the effect of the natural disasters they commonly face. However, they need to start to prepare to respond immediately to natural hazards rather than dealing with it long term and they can occur in quick succession so even if they have good response strategies recovering increasingly becomes harder.