Typhoon Haiyan

Question 1

what were the primary impacts of the typhoon?

Answer 1

• 6340 deaths
• category 5 on the saffir. simpson scale
• hit landfall in the Philippines on 7th November 2013
• most powerful storm to ever strike island
• heavy rainfall 281.9mm in 12 hours
• storm surges with waves of 5.2m

Question 2

what were the secondary impacts of the typhoon?

Answer 2

• total damage estimated at $2.9bn
• communication and power systems were destroyed, leaving large areas cut off
• lot of intl aid never got beyond airports due to closed roads
• 6 million people displaced
• flooding and landslides blocked roads, relief/aid could only arrive by air
• 540k evacuated to storm shelters
• 1 mil of food packs wasted due to improper storage
• agriculture, tourism, fishing etc livelihoods impacted
• looting

Question 3

when was the typhoon?

Answer 3

November 2013

Question 4

what were the responses to the typhoon?

Answer 4

• disaster emergency committee launched an intl fundraising appeal
• attempts to move thousands by military aircraft- but not very efficient due to lack of coms
• only 100 police officers out of 1300 reported for duty exacerbating crime
• curfew imposed
• UK and US sent aid but not very effective response process considering the vulnerability and frequency of disasters in a country like this