the Phillippines [multi-hazard zone] Flashcards
where is the Philippines?
a country off of mainland south east Asia consisting of over 7,000 islands
its home to over 100 million people
why is the Philippines prone to natural disasters?
its situated of the western rim of the ‘Pacific Ring of Fire’ which results in both earthquakes and volcanic activity
tropical storms also come across from the Pacific to south east Asia, making the Philippines the most exposed country in the world
earthquakes in the Philippines
fairly common
between 2000 and 2013 there were 17 earthquakes with a minimum magnitude of 5.6
these caused numerous deaths and damaged a large number of buildings
Mindanao 1976
earthquake of magnitude 7.9 which caused tsunamis and killed up to 8,000 people
Luzon 1990
earthquake of magnitude of 7.8 killing over 1,600 people and caused widespread liquefaction
tropical storms in the Philippines
cross the country every year, bringing with them a risk of flooding, landslides and lahars if combined with volcanic eruptions
the most fatalities in the Philippines come from storm surges
e.g Typhoon Haiyan of November 2013 which killed 6,340
volcanic activity in the Philippines
has around 23 active volcanoes on its islands
Mount Pinatubo 1991
the second largest eruption on the planet
can be very deadly as 500,000 people like in a 40km radius
early warnings and evacuations saved around 5,000 people in 1991
violent eruption, threw gasses, ash and steam into the upper atmosphere causing global temperature to decrease by 1/2 a dgree for two years
the eruption was followed by Typhoon Yunya the heavy rainfall along with volcanic ash created very deadly lahars and the fin\al death toll was around 850
Mayo volcano
most active
erupted almost 50 times in the past 400 years]most destructive eruption was in 1812 and its most recent was in 2014
widely known for its lahars, with volcanic ash mixing with heavy rainfall from the typhoons to produce rivers of mud
Taal volcano
one of the most active in the country with over 33 eruptions
volcano sits in the middle of a crater lake
