Typhoon Haiyan Case Study

• Typhoon Haiyan

  • Date 4:40am, 8th November 2013
  • Category = 5 super typhoon
  • Affected areas = Tacloban city, Leyte
• Typhoon Haiyan

  killed = 6,000

  missing = 1000+

  homeless = 2 million
• Primary effects

  • impacts were directly caused by the disaster like the rain and wind from the typhoon
  • 400ml of heavy rainfall had flooded 1km inland
  • storm surge was 5m high and had destroyed 90% of Tacloban city
  • strong winds around 300km/hr had damaged infrastructure like electricity lines
  • storm surge had contaminated water and crops leading to crop failure of rice and sugar cane
  • 2 million are homeless as 1 million houses were destroyed
• Secondary effects

  • 800,000 litre oil leak from and oil barge which contaminated the ocean and the mangrove forest which acted as a natural barrier
  • crime rates had increased as survivors looted for essential supplies and food (recorded 8 deaths)
  • the flooded contaminated surface and ground water with sea water, chemicals and sewage which made disease like chloera likely to spread
• Intermediate response

  • was generally poor
  • emergency response was coordinated by the world health organisation which the National calamity brough aid
  • warnings broadcasted 2 days beforehand allowed 800,000 people to evacuate
  • disasters emergency committee (DEC) had raised 1 million pounds from TV, radio adverts and social media to help support survivors
  • Canada and the US deployed military aircrafts for finding and assisting survivors
• Long term response

  • UN appealed $300 million to help rebuild the city and for relief
  • replanting mangrove forests which acted as a natural flood defence
  • new storm-surge warning system which efforts to improve prediction and monitoring
  • UNICEF and world health organisation helped vaccinate thousands of children to prevent disease