Paper 1 - Tropical storm case study Flashcards
Primary impacts
Over 6000 people were killed, the majority of which drowned when a 5 metre high storm surge hit.
29,000 were injured (e.g. open wounds, broken bones), due to collapsed buildings and fallen trees knocked down by winds of over 300 km/hour.
Flooding caused extensive damage to the major coastal city of Tacloban, as well as many smaller fishing and farming settlements.
4 million people were left homeless, and more than 6 million were displaced while waiting for flood waters to recede
Farmland destroyed e.g rice,
Fishing communities were severely affected with the storm destroying 30,000 boats and associated equipment.
Increased food prices
Looting of local shops
Major roads were flooded and/or blocked by trees and debris (e.g. from damaged buildings), and impassable. The airport, ferries and boats were also disrupted.
An oil spill poisoned fish and other marine species and damaged the mangrove ecosystems
Very strong wind (almost 300 km/h) and 5 metre high storm surge caused extensive damage to mangrove forests along the coast
Secondary Impacts
Secondary Impacts
Outbreaks of disease due to the damage to sanitation systems and contamination of water due to the storm surge and flooding.
Crowded temporary shelters meant that illness spread fast.
Long term homelessness during rebuilding. 2 years after the disaster, 100,000 families were still living in temporary shelters
Six million workers lost their sources of income.
Overall economic impact of Typhoon Haiyan is estimated at $5.8 billion (£3.83 billion).
Immediate responses
Monitoring and prediction meant the government could broadcast warnings two days before Typhoon Haiyan hit and instruct people to evacuate. However, some residents refused to evacuate, in order to protect their homes from looters (robbers). Looting was a problem.
Over 1 million people were evacuated from low lying areas, to over 1, 200 evacuation centres.
Many evacuees sought refuge in an indoor sports stadium in city of Tacloban but some died when it was flooded
The government sent essential equipment and medical supplies to some regions. Emergency aid supplies arrived three days later by plane once the airport was reopened.
It took at least one week to restore electricity supplies
Within two weeks, over one million food packs and 250,000 litres of water were distributed.
The WHO (World Health Organisation) set up a vaccination programme to minimise the impacts. However, illness (e.g. respiratory infections, severe diarrhoeah) was particularly common for children under 5.
The Philippines formally declared ‘A State of National Calamity’ and asked for international help. It received $1.5 billion in foreign aid.
A curfew was imposed two days after Typhoon Haiyan to reduce looting.
Long term responses
Aid agencies helped people get their livelihoods back, for example by repairing fishing boats or distributing rice seeds.
The Philippines government committed to building more cyclone shelters and invested in a new storm surge warning system
In 2014 the Philippines government introduced its ‘Build Back Better’ strategy. This includes building thousands of new homes away from the coast and a ‘no build zone’ along the most vulnerable sections of coastline.
