Disaster Hotspot Case Study-Philippines Flashcards
Where is the Philippines
Group of islands in south east Asia
Why is is vulnerable
At risk from a variety of hazards
Explain volcanoes at the Philippines
The Philippines is near to a destructive plate boundary-the Philippine plate is being sub ducted beneath the Eurasian plate
The islands were formed by a combination of folding at the boundary and volcanoes formed from magma that had risen to the surface from the mantle below
Mount Pinatubo is a volcano that erupted in 1991-many people were evacuated, buildings collapsed, crops were destroyed and agricultural land was ruined by falling ash
Explain earthquakes at the Philippines
The Philippine plate and Eurasian plate can sometimes become locked together as one moves the other-causes pressure to build up, so where the pressure becomes too much the plates jerk past each other, ie. causing an earthquake
Earthquakes also occur at fault lines in the area, when the plate has cracked under pressure
Earthquakes occur daily, but most cannot be felt (low on Richter scale)
An earthquake of magnitude 7.8 occurred on the Luzon island (1990) killing 1,500 people
Example landslides at the Philippines
The Philippines get a lot of rain, if a lot of rain falls in a short space of time in areas with steep slopes, landslides occur
Also can be triggered by earthquakes
A landslide occurred on Leyte Island (2006) after it had been raining heavily for 10 days, a whole village was buried killing hundreds
Explain typhoons at the Philippines
The Philippines have around 10 typhoons every year
Develops in the Pacific Ocean and moves westwards over the islands
Typhoon Xangsane swept across Manila and the surrounding densely populated area in the north (2006) -high winds and torrential rain destroyed homes and caused flooding, landslides and the loss of power and water
Explain tsunamis in the Philippines
Earthquakes in any of the oceans surrounding the Philippines could cause a tsunami
In 1976-an earthquake of magnitude 7.9 caused a tsunamis that hit the coastline around the Moro Gulf on the southern island of Mindano, thousands were killed and several cities devastated
Explain droughts in the Philippines
Some parts of the Philippines have a distinct wet and dry season, eg. Manila is dry between November and April, and wet between May and October
Drought can occur when the wet season has not brought enough rain to last the dry season, or the dry season is particularly harsh
There was a drought on Luzon island in 2005-reduction in rainfall decreased water flow in rivers, which affected power production from hydroelectric power plants, this affected the power supply in the entire region, which decreased economic and social activity
Explain flooding in the Philippines
During the wet season, floods can be caused by typhoons and heavy rain
Flooding affects many areas, even some that are also affected by droughts
Major floods occurred in the lowland areas around Manila (1970’s and recent years)-crops were devastated in this major rice growing region
Is the population of the Philippines vulnerable
Yes
Poor/wealthy? How does this affect hazards?
It is not a really poor country, some bits are very wealthy
But most of the population remains vulnerable to the effects of hazards, or has a low capacity to cope
When a hazard strikes a densely populated area…
There is a greater risk it will become a disaster
Eg. the island of Luzon and the area around Manila are more at risk as they have a high population density
What have population pressures lead to
Deforestation of upland areas for agriculture
This increases the risk of landslides in populated areas
The Philippines has a fast growing economy…
But there are still many people below the poverty line who will be most severely affected by a disaster
Where have some fast growing settlements been built near
Hazardous areas
Eg. Angeles was built near Mount Pinatubo-it was not thought of as a threat because it has not erupted since 1380
