Multi-Hazard Environment: Philippines

Question 1

a multi-hazardous environment is

Answer 1

an area which experiences multiple different hazards e.g. earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and flooding. A hazard hostpot is a place that has 2 or more different types of hazard affecting it.

Question 2

The Philippines is susceptible to the following hazards:

Answer 2

earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, droughts, wildfires, fogs and smogs, typhoons, mudslides and landslides

Question 3

the Philippines is made up of over ……..islands, with ………of them uninhabited
many of these islands are…………….and form part of the……………….where …….% of the planet’s active volcanoes are situated

Answer 3

• 7,000 islands
• 2,500 uninhabited, may of them island arcs (made by volcanoes)
• Pacific Ring of Fire
• 75% of active volcanoes are part of this volcanic chain

Question 4

population is:

Answer 4

105.9 million people

Question 5

population living in informal settlements/homeless/permanently displaced:

Answer 5

4.5 million people

Question 6

population density in Manila is:

in London this is:

Answer 6

Manila: 42,800 people per square km
Manila is the most densely populated city in the world
London: 5,590 people per square km

Question 7

…..% of employment is dependent on primary industries

Answer 7

25%

Question 8

……..% of the country’s GDP is generated in Manila

Answer 8

50%

Question 9

many Filipinos act based on ………………… theory, which believes that

Answer 9

• Fatalism
• Fatalism is an acceptance or the belief that hazards are out of human control and are acts of God
• Traditional phrase, “Bahala na”, meaning “Leave it to God”, shows attitude of many people towards hazard preparedness

Question 10

a large earthquake struck Manila in ………………. and killed …….. people
………………… buildings were also destroyed

Answer 10

• 16th July 1990
• 1,600 deaths
• 20,000 buildings destroyed

-The earthquake also triggered the magma chamber of Mount Pinatubo to fill, leading to its eruption a year later

Question 11

Mount Pinatubo erupted in

Answer 11

-June 1991

Question 12

The lead up to Mt Pinatubo’s eruption was as follows:

Answer 12

• the earthquake of July 1990 squeezed basalt from the upper mantle into the magma chamber and created viscous lava
• the basalt ‘reactivated’ the extinct volcano and created a gas-rich magma called andesite, which built up pressure inside the volcano and created a bulge which could be monitored via satellite

Question 13

the Mt Pinatubo eruption sent …………… tonnes of material into the atmosphere and sent lava bombs …………km away

Answer 13

• 20 million tonnes of ash and acidic gases

- lava bombs sent 100km away

Question 14

the Mt Pinatubo eruption coincided with Typhoon………….which led to ………………. people being made homeless, and ………………….. being made unemployed

Answer 14

• Typhoon Yunya
• 200,000 people made homeless as the typhoon created ‘mud rain’ when combined with volcanic ash in the atmosphere, and so buildings collapsed under the weight of the mud
• 600,000 lost their jobs in agriculture as 500 square km of fields were covered in mud

Question 15

over …………….. people were evacuated before Mt Pinatubo erupted
evacuation occurred thanks to

Answer 15

200,000 thanks to an early warning system
US Service Military Personal also rescued 58,000 people from high risk areas

successful evacuation was made possible thanks to:

• hazard zonation maps which had been issued a month before the eruption
• response teams in the area were equipped and briefed quickly so rescue efforts were immediate

Question 16

in ………………… 19….., huge landslides occurred and hit…………..slums
the landslides occurred because:

Answer 16

• November 1991
• 400 slum areas were devastated
• people carrying out illegal logging on slopes for income also created informal settlements on those slops, which easily become saturated during storms, leading to landslides with a high vulnerability population

Question 17

in……………., ………. were killed in Guinsaugon, South Leyte, due to landslides
the government’s response was to

Answer 17

February 2006
1,300 killed in landslides
government started afforestation projects to secure soils better and prevent more landslides

Question 18

typhoon Ketsana struck in ………..

and damage amounted to ….% of the country’s GDP

Answer 18

• 2009 and resulted in huge floods in Manila

- damage was 2.7% of the total GDP

Question 19

in response to Typhoon Ketsana, the World Bank worked with the Filipino gov. to:

Answer 19

• World Bank funded the Filipino government’s Metropolitan Manila Flood Management Master Plan (MMFMMP) in 2012
• The MMFMMP proposed to reduce flood risk by building a dam in the upper catchment of the River Marikina
• 36 pumping stations will be modernised and 20 new pumping stations built to limit the extent of flooding (Mitigation)
• the initial phase of the project is set for completion in 2024 and a second phase has been approved by the World Bank for $6 million (shows long term mitigation plans)

Question 20

• The Samar Flash Floods happened in ………………
• The floods displaced ………………people across ….provinces
• They caused $…………… in damage and affected……….people altogether
• …….people died

Answer 20

• The Samar Flash Floods happened in December 2010
• The floods displaced 450,000 people across 19 provinces
• They caused $20 million in damage and affected 1.29 million people altogether
• 40 people died, which is quite low given the scale of the event

Question 21

an example of a localised response to the Samar Flash Floods was:

Answer 21

-the Asian Development Bank (ADB) set up a pilot project (small scale trial project) on a community level in Sitio Pulo, Manila Bay, to better protect people against floods y setting up workshops on disaster risk reduction and assistance

Question 22

in Sitio Pulo (ADB pilot project), the ADB funding allowed for:

Answer 22

• a 2-storey multipurpose centre (which also serves as an evacuation centre) was built
• bridges were constructed to small islands so that fishermen could stay on the coast but also have evacuation routes when flooding struck
• that way people can keep their livelihoods while being safer in a multi-hazardous zone

Question 23

since 2010, the residents of Sitio Pulo have used the help form the ADB to create:

Answer 23

• have created their own community organisation with the funds from the ADB and with practical help from TAO-Pilipinas
• this community-run organisation is called the SAMASAISIP, which spreads awareness about flooding