Case Study - Typhoon Haiyan

Question 1

Key Facts

i) When and where?

ii) What category?

iii) How fast were the winds

iv) How big did the storm surges reach?

v) How much rainfall was there?

Vi) Economic damage?

Answer 1

Key Facts

i) November 2013; began as a tropical depression (area of low pressure) hundreds of km east of Philippines and headed west before hitting the islands

ii) Category 5 - one of the biggest storms ever recorded. Strong winds, heavy rain, very high storm surge, catastrophic flooding and landslides

iii) Winds up to 300 km/hr

iv) Storm Surge up to 8m high (huge) - destroyed 90% of Tadoben City

v) >450 rain = led to wide-spread flooding

Vi) Economic damage = US$3 bn

Question 2

What were the Primary Impacts?

Answer 2

Wind, Rain and Storm Surges

Human
* 7,000 dead, many by drowning from 8m high storm surge,
* 2 million homeless

Crops & Fisheries
* 30,000 fishing boats destroyed (lots of people’s livelihood)
* Wide-spread flooding - crops + farmland destroyed.
Over 3/4 of farmers/fisheries lost their income

Infrastructure
* Power & Electricity down - winds
* Widespread Infrastructure Damage (Buildings, Airports, Ports, Hospitals, Schools).
* Roads blocked by debris and fallen trees.

Question 3

What were the Secondary Impacts?

Answer 3

(1) Major shortages of food, water, shelter and aid - affected health and sanitation

(2) Landslides on deforested slopes caused by rain and flooding

(3) Local governments collapsed in some areas - many officials missing

(4) Breakdown in law & order - Looting

(5) Oil Spillage caused by destroyed oil rig

(6) Prolonged power and communications blackout

(7) Burst water pipes and contaminated water from sea water = No drinking water

(8) Flights and ferries disrupted

(9) Loss of income for 6million people

(10) Too many dead to identify and bury - mass disposal of bodies

Question 4

What made Philippines vulnerable

Answer 4

Geographic
(1) Location is 13% (just above) equator = storms. Ocean rises to +27c in late summer + low wind shears. Also faces Western Pacific - little else to absorb energy of storm before it hits land
(2) Low-lying islands = risk of storm surges
(3) Terrain - risk of land slides

Social
(1) High population density/overcrowding. Makes evacuation more difficult
(2) Large inequality of wealth - lots of poverty; people living in poor quality housing (wood/timber - very little concrete)

Economic
(1) Poor country; poor quality infrastructure (few paved roads)
(2) Less resources for emergency planning and response (aid, shelter, clean water).

Government (weak, corruption)
(1) Less able to co-ordinate planning and response
(2) Money and resource improperly allocated

Question 5

What were the planning shortfalls

Answer 5

(1) Sea walls built too low for most storm surges
(2) While storm was forecast, it was difficult to communicate information - especially to isolated islands
(3) Government hadn’t build or trained sufficient emergency services
(3) Air force only had 3 planes to dispatch people
(4) Corruption - money improperly allocated to planning

Question 6

Why factors impeded the immediate response effort.

Why was the response so ineffective

Answer 6

Many people 5 days without aid
(1) Roads were blocked and airports damaged
(2) Prolonged electricity and power outage - evacuation daytime only.
(3) Evacuation difficult due to high population densities along the coastline.
(4) People not wanting to leave their homes as not want to leave their belongings.
(5) Government only had 3 military planes, little resources to find people.
(6) Difficult to reach small islands where infrastructure was easily destroyed.
7) The government didn’t have the emergency services it needed to co-ordinate an effective response. Just 70 workers were available in main city Tacloban.
(8) The army did help but the airport was too damaged to land aid planes.

Question 7

What was the short-term response

Answer 7

(1) International Aid agencies brought food, water, aid and temporary shelter.
(2) Red cross distributed some emergencies supplies - rice, canned food, sugar, and water
(3) Search & Rescue - Canada and USA provided military aircraft to find missing people
(4) Field Hospitals - France, Belgium UK set up to help injured
(5) Evacuation centres to help homeless - tents/shelters.

Question 8

Why did the storm response come under criticism/seen as a failure

Answer 8

(1) 5 days without aid
(2) Only 20% of victims received aid
(3) Shortage of fresh water and food continued for 6 months.
(2) I million people homeless 1 year later

Question 9

What is the long-term response /new efforts to prepare for next storm

Answer 9

(1) Financial aid by rich countries
(2) “Cash for work” programs set up - people paid to clear up the mess- provided them with an income
(3) Quickly restore rice and fishing
(4) Large-scale vaccination programme to prevent disease
(5) Government’s “build-back better” strategy - rehome >200,000 living in high-risk areas along the coast
(6) No-build zone in very risk areas.
(7) Rebuild infrastructure with foreign aid
(8) New typhoon shelters
(9) Restore mangrove forests - act as a storm barriers.

A lot of the government-led projects has have had limited progress so far and the government has been criticized.