Typhoon Haiyan 2013 - Storm Hazard

Question 1

Where did the typhoon occur?

What was the date of the disaster?

Answer 1

Typhoon Haitian occurred in the Philippines on the Visayas group of islands home to 17 million people. It occurred on the 8th November 2013 and it was a category 5 storm

Question 2

What were the causes of the typhoon?

Answer 2

• 27 degree Celsius sea temperature
• Sea was 60-80m deep
• There was a coriolis force
  It started in the South China Sea and extreme wind and rain was generated

Question 3

What were the environmental impacts of this typhoon?

Answer 3

• Widespread floods destroyed homes and businesses in coastal areas (40mm of rain)
• Philippine government estimated 71 hectares of land was affected (crops destroyed by strong winds and storm surge)
• Thousands of trees uprooted which led to a massive release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere therefore there was a loss of habitat with resulting effects on wildlife
• 90% of Tacloban City was destroyed

Question 4

What were the economic impacts of this typhoon?

Answer 4

• Typhoon caused inevitable damage to the economy ( estimated at £3.83 billion of damages and losses)
• 6 million workers lost their sources of income
• Major rice, corn and sugar producing areas for the Philippines were destroyed affecting the countries international trade and farmers incomes
• Flights were disrupted for weeks so airlines lost money

Question 5

What were the social impacts of this typhoon?

Answer 5

• Affected more than 14 million people and killed 6,300 people leaving 1,800 people missing
• 1.1 million houses were either partially or totally damaged
• 33 million coconut trees, major source of livelihoods, were destroyed
• 30,000 fishing boats destroyed and a lot of people depend on them for livelihood
• Power supplies were down for a month
• Lack of food/drink and aid led to outbreaks of disease

Question 6

What were the political impacts of this typhoon?

Answer 6

• There were calls for the government to take effective action in the face of the disaster
• Early indications were not good as it was reported president Aquino walked out of a meeting in the face of the sheer scale of the disaster and angry heckling from survivors
• After the typhoon, looting and violence broke out in Tachloban

Question 7

What were the short term responses of this typhoon?

Answer 7

• PAGASA issued warnings to people 2 days before typhoon hit leading to the evacuation of 750,000 residents
• Philippines declared state of calamity and asked for international help one day after the typhoon hit
• UK government provided food, drink shelter and medicine for up to 800,000 victims
• 1,200 evacuation centres set up to house the homeless
• Philippines Red Cross delivered food

Question 8

What were the long term responses of this typhoon?

Answer 8

• More than 1.6 million people benefited from World Visions work over the 3 years of the typhoon Haiyan response
• ‘Cash for work’ programmes so people were paid to clear debris and help rebuild city
• Oxfam supported the replacement of fishing boats
• Coconut trees planted but will take 7 years for them to hear fruit
• Thousands of homes rebuilt in areas away from flood risk
• More typhoon shelters built