The Phillipines - Multi-Hazard Environment

Question 1

What is the GDP of the Phillipines compared to the UKs

Answer 1

$7,358 compared to the UKs GDP of $39,889

Question 2

What is the HDI compared to the UK

Answer 2

0.66 while the UKs is 0.909

Question 3

What is the infant mortality rate compared to the UKs

Answer 3

22/1000 compared to the UKs 3.8/1000

Question 4

What is the life expectancy compared to the UK

Answer 4

69 compared to 81.6

Question 5

Where is the Phillipines

Answer 5

A group a islands in south-east Asia. It is positioned in the western rim of the ‘Pacific Ring of Fire’. It is also positioned in the area where tropical disturbances cross from the Pacific towards Southeast Asia making it the most exposed country in the world for this hazard.

Question 6

What are the hazards the Phillipines are vulnerable to

Answer 6

Geophysical hazards: volcanic, seismic and landslides

Hydro-meteorological hazards: tropical storms, floods, droughts, landslides

Question 7

What does the vulnerability to hazards hinder the attempts of the government doing

Answer 7

Trying to reduce the incidence of poverty and to reduce the number of people and assets vulnerable to the hazards.

Question 8

Example of a multi-hazard event

Answer 8

In 2013, the country was subject to a severe earthquake (Bohol), touched or crossed by seven typhoons, including Haiyan and eight tropical storms. At the same time the major volcanoes were still rumbling away with intermittent small-scale emissions of lava, steam and gas.

Question 9

Between 2000-2013 how many earthquakes were there and what were the magnitude

Answer 9

17 and at least 5.6

Question 10

Why do Manila and the Island of Luzon have a greater disaster risk

Answer 10

They are very densely populated

Question 11

Why is the phillipines so vulnerable to hydro-meteorological hazards

Answer 11

Becsuse of the coastally distributed hazards

Question 12

How does the widespread economic deprivation a reason the hazards are so bad

Answer 12

The Phillipines have a low capacity to cope

Question 13

Why is the Phillipines so vulnerable to volcanic hazards

Answer 13

Near to a major destructive plate boundary. The Philippines plate is being subducted beneath the Eurasian plates.
Settlements have been built in vulnerable areas e.g Angeles near Mt Pinatubo when it was classified as dormant.

Question 14

Why is the Phillipines so vulnerable to seismic hazards

Answer 14

Earthquakes are a regular occurrence in the Phillipines due the complex nature of plate margins and faults close by. It is located along the border of two tectonic plates on the ‘Pacific Ring of Fire’. It gets hit by earthquakes of over 6 on the Richter scale every year.

Question 15

Why is the Phillipines so vulnerable to tropical storms

Answer 15

The Phillipines is hit by more than 20 tropical storms per year. They develop in the Pacific Ocean and move westwards over the island

Question 16

Example of volcanic hazard in the Phillipines

Answer 16

Mt Pinatubo erupted in 1991 (second largest eruption on the planet in the twentieth century)

Question 17

What was the death toll of the Mt Pinatubo eruption

Answer 17

700

Question 18

How many people were made homeless after the Mt Pinatubo eruption

Answer 18

200,000

Question 19

Environmental impacts for the Mt Pinatubo eruption

Answer 19

Crops were destroyed and agricultural land was ruined by falling ash

Question 20

How many people did early warnings and evacuations save in the Mt Pinatubo eruption

Answer 20

At least 5,000

Question 21

How long after the Mt Pinatubo eruption was global temperatures still affected

Answer 21

2 years (average global temperatures down by 0.5*C)

Question 22

What followed the Mt Pinatubo eruption

Answer 22

Typhoon Yunya, with very heavy rainfall combining with volcanic ash to produce deadly lahars. Final death toll was around 850.

Question 23

Example of seismic hazards in The Phillipines

Answer 23

Luzon Island in 1990

Moro Gulf in 1976

Question 24

What was the magnitude of the Luzon Island earthquake

Answer 24

7.8

Question 25

What was the death toll of the Luzon earthquake

Answer 25

1500

Question 26

What were the environmental impacts of the Luzon earthquake

Answer 26

Caused widespread ground rupturing and soil liquefaction

Question 27

What was the magnitude of the Moro Gulf earthquake

Answer 27

7.9 (highly seismically active region)

Question 28

What was the impact of the Moro Gulf earthquake

Answer 28

Caused a tsunami so thousand killed, several cities devastated

Question 29

Example of a typhoon hazard in The Phillipines

Answer 29

Typhoon Haiyan (strongest and deadliest tropical storm on record in the Phillipines)

Question 30

When was Typhoon Haiyan

Answer 30

2013

Question 31

How strong were the winds of Typhoon Haiyan

Answer 31

300km/hr

Question 32

How high was the storm surge that followed Typhoon Haiyan

Answer 32

5m

Question 33

How many houses were destroyed or damaged in Typhoon Haiyan

Answer 33

1 million homes

Question 34

How many deaths did Typhoon Haiyan cause

Answer 34

6,201 deaths

Question 35

How many people were affected by a Typhoon Haiyan

Answer 35

14 million

Question 36

How populated is the Phillipines

Answer 36

Densely - 340/km^2

Question 37

What are the human qualities of the Phillipines

Answer 37

Densely populated
Communities understand the risks having experienced them before.
People prepare for hazards e.g by widening rivers near settlements to prevent flooding.
People stock pile food in order to increase their resilience.

Question 38

Over the past decade where have Filipinos flocked fo

Answer 38

Risky low-lying areas, havens for cheap, crammed housing where there is a clear link between poverty and vulnerability to natural disasters

Question 39

How has the Philippines policy towards natural hazards changed

Answer 39

Before 2009 funding was available for disasters after the events but this led to a reactionary focus rather than a focus on prevention and preparation. Now the policy is working towards large scale resilience to disasters through adaption, mitigation and management strategies.

Question 40

What is included in the adaption, mitigation and management strategies

Answer 40

Embankments to reduce chance of flooding, public awareness through education programs, monitoring with early warning systems, prevent new buildings in prone areas and adapting buildings to be able to cope with earthquakes

Question 41

What is the future for hazards in the Phillipines

Answer 41

Volcanic and seismic events are unlikely to increase in either frequency or magnitude. However, the number of dolled exposed to the hazard risk is likely to increase with population growth and urbanisation. Urbanisation can lead to deforestation in upland areas for agriculture, this reduces interception and therefore reduces lag time - increasing risk of landslides and flooding. It is likely that an increase in ocean temperatures will make storms more intense, thus making coastal populations more vulnerable.

Question 42

How has rapid urbanisation exacerbated the problems facing the Philippines

Answer 42

It’s tightly packed, flimsily constructed housing and the environmental degradation such as deforestation and that has only added to the problem (steep, unprotected slopes leading to rapid run-off, flooding and the potential for landslides)

Question 43

How can disasters be mitigated, even avoided

Answer 43

Land use planning, construction and other preventative measures which avoid the creation of disaster-prone conditions

Question 44

What has there been a widespread emphasis on

Answer 44

Post-disaster relief and short-term preparedness (forecasting/evacuation), rather than on mitigation and post-disaster support for economic recovery

Question 45

What does the current system tend to be but what is required

Answer 45

More of a centralised top-down administrative system and it needs to be a community based and gives rise to local initiatives by using a bottoms-up approach that will help more vulnerable communities cope with the hazards when they occur

Question 46

What has the Philippines National Red Cross (PNRC) started

Answer 46

Programmes at a community level - the aim is to reduce the impacts of natural disasters by encouraging people to collaborate in protecting their lives and the resources upon which they depend

Question 47

What does bottom-up approaches consist of

Answer 47

Co-operation and partnership with governmental bodies in order to gain financial support for mitigation measures and to ensure that the programmes have long-term sustainability.
Training local volunteers in disaster management.
Identifying risk through land use mapping and determining which mitigation measures might be possible.
Initiating mitigation measures which could be physician (sea walls, dykes), health related (clean water supplies) or planning tools (land use plans, evacuation plans)
Dissemination of information to the whole community.

Question 48

What is the attitude of Filipinos

Answer 48

Resilience in the face of problems and fatalistic - they accept these events are part of living in such an area (even gods will) and that losses are inevitable from time to time

Question 49

What does recent government legislation call for

Answer 49

70% of disaster spending to be used on long term plans with only 30% going on emergency aid.

Question 50

What is the main problem of living in a multi-hazard environment that remains

Answer 50

As officials put it ‘resources are stretched, even before we could recover from one disaster, here is the next one’