typhoon haiyan

• general info


  · 7th November 2013.

  · Typhoon Haiyan hit Visayas region of the Philippines= worst affected area.

  · Wind speed 314 km/h

  · First developed in in the Pacific and tracked NW intensifying.
• phillipines vulnerability


  · Average GDP per capita= $2765 (world average= $13,100)

  · 7th most populated nation in Asia with population of 98.4 million.

  · Uneven distribution of population (concentrated in Visayas region.)

  · It's a storm prone area with 19 typhoon strong storms per year.
• preparedness/prediction


  · Only monitoring was done by the Japanese -meteorological office and typhoon warning centre

  · Making many land fall prediction
• primary economic impacts


  o Overall damage is estimated to be $2.9 billion.

  o Talloban= worst effect area.

  § 90% of all buildings destroyed

  § Electricity supplies cut and communication destroyed.

  § Talloban airport= unstable and essential roads and bridges destroyed.

  o Agriculture sector suffered severe loses-

  § 120,000 tonnes of sugar lost.

  § 130,000 tonnes of rice lost.
• secondary economic impacts


  o 3.7 billion nesos lost in farm damaging.

  o 0.8% loss of Philippines GDP (each hurricane season knocks off 5% GDP)

  o Rice remains limited so 20% of rice imported annually since 2013.
• environmental impacts


  · Primary:

  o 175,000 acres of farmland were affected.

  o Coconut plantations flattened. (world largest coconut oil producers.)

  o Deforestation- loss of forests, tress and widespread flooding.

  · Secondary:

  o Water pollution= corpses and oil/gas spills

  o Unhealthy levels of benzene in air causing respiratory problems.

  o Severely damaged mangrove population.
• primary social impacts


  · Primary: -

  o Death toll= 10,000 (red cross) vs 2,500 (president Aquino)

  o 9 million affected

  o Tallonban city was worst affected area hit by 5m storm surge.

  § 5,800 dead

  § Bodies washed out from graves.

  o 5 million homes destroyed / uninhabitable.
• secondary social impacts


  o Humanitarian crisis with state of emergency declared.

  o Infrastructural damage slowed relief.

  o Widespread looting- abandoned houses and shops (e.g. 33,000 bags of rice stolen from warehouses.)

  o Crime increased including rape.

  o Residents dug up water pipes and boiled water as water contaminated.
• political impacts


  · Primary: -

  o Talloban city government was decimated as had 70 workers after event compared to 2,500.

  · Secondary: -

  o Heavy criticism of the government response to the natural disaster under Aquino.
• immediate responses - positive


  o Infrared satellite images and thermal cameras helped to detect bodies that were buried under debris.

  o Armed police deployed to protect fuel and aid supplies from looters

  o UN fundraising- $788 million and foreign nations donated $500 million. (However, damage exceeded $8 trillion.)

  o International community

  § 90 tonnes of relief supply from Australia.

  § 100 tonnes of food from Norway.

  § $2.5 million from Coca cola.
• immediate responses - negative

  o Infrastructural damage slowed relief. (only 20% of required aid Talloban received)

  o Only 100/300 police reported for duty.

  o Hospitals were overwhelmed and ran out of supplies.

  o 5 days after event people still lacked basic amenities (water and safe shelter)
• long term responses - positive

  o Grants given to local fishing businesses and "Save the Children" provided tent schools to limit disruption to education.

  o Soft engineering schemes to increase flood resistance such as mangrove plantations and afforestation schemes.

  o Un development programme- improve disaster response (evacuation routes and shelters)

  o "cash-for-work" schemes- paid to rebuild the city.
• long term responses


  o Businesses still closed in Talloban

  o 200,000people still in temporary accommodation.

  o Coconut farmers need 5 years as coconut trees take a long time to grow.

  o Shortage of available land for new construction.

  o Limited help for psychological trauma.