The Philippines a multi hazard environment beyond UK Flashcards
Where is the Philippines?
a country off mainland southeast Asia
how many islands is present and what is the Philippines?
over 7,000 islands and is an archipelago
what is the population of the Philippines?
over 1 million
why does it experience lots of tropical disturbances?
as it’s exposed from typhoons crossing from the pacific towards southeast Asia
What does flooding and landslides occur from and hinder?
occur from the typhoons on islands and hinder the attempts to reduce poverty and reduce the number of people and assets vulnerable to hazards
why was 2013 a bad year for the Philippines?
subject to one severe Earthquake (Bohol) touched or crossed by several typhoons including Haiyan and eight tropical storms. Major volcanoes still ruing away with intermittent emissions.
what are the major threats to the Philippines?
- earthquakes
- volcanoes
- tropical disturbances
how many earthquakes of what scale occurred between 2000 and 2013?
17 of at least a 5.6 magnitude
what major earthquakes have occurred recently?
- Mindanao (magnitude 7.9 and killed over 8,000) causing a tsunami
- Luzon (magnitude 7.8 and killed over 1,600) caused soil liquefication
- Bohol (magnitude 7.2 and killed over 200)
how many volcanoes are present across the islands of the Philippines?
around 23
which three volcanoes have a history of violent eruptions in the Philippines?
- Mayon
- Pinatubo
- Taal
tropical disturbances within the Philippines
- numerous occur and cross the country every year
- risk of flooding, landslides and lahars if combined with volcanic activity
- storm surges responsible for the most deaths in Philippines
- Haiyan 2013
why are people within the Philippines at greater risk than people elsewhere?
hazards can be linked to each other but on their own are hazards
tsunamis, landslides/mudslides, flooding, fires and lahars are sometimes secondary effects of hazards
in the past two decades how many natural disasters has the Philippines experienced?
over 300
what are officials saying is becoming more severe?
typhoons due to climatic change
where have Filipinos flocked to?
risky low lying areas, havens for cheap crammed housing where poverty is linked to to vulnerability
what has exacerbated the problem of natural disasters?
rapid urbanisation with tightly packed and flimsy housing as well as deforestation
what is the problem with the Philippines institutional arrangements and disaster management?
- relying on response and reactive approach not mitigation b land use planning and construction
- emphasis on post disaster relief and short term preparedness (forecasting/evacuating) over post disaster support
- very top down instead of local initiatives to help local communities
example of a programme that has started and what they do and how
Philippines national red cross focus on community level and reducing impacts.
- partnership with governmental bodies financial support for mitigation and sustainability
- training volunteers
identify risk by land mapping and choosing mitigation methods that are possible
- initiating mitigation measures
- dissemination of info
what idea do some Filipinos believe in about hazards?
fatalism
what have people praised about the Filipinos?
their resilience to live in a multi hazardous area
what does the UN claim?
that the Philippines has some of the best risk reduction laws but most are still just on paper
where is too much responsibility for reducing risk?
with 7000 islands lots of responsibility is on local governments where money is not wisely spent and funds aren’t always there
what is the very main problem of a multi hazardous area?
resources are always stretched as before the Philippines can recover from one disaster they have another one
what recent government legislation has been put in place?
70% of disaster spending is to be spent on long term plans and only 30% on emergency aid
