Typhoon Haiyan case study Flashcards
Date
8th of Novemeber 2013
Location
Phillipines, irginated in the Northwest Pacific Ocean
Wind strength
195mph
Pressure Stat
895 mbar
Rating on Saffir Simpson
Category 5
Factors contributing to ’ vulnerability
great number of islands comprising the Philippines, Haiyan made five landfalls, beginning with Guiuan in Samar
s the configuration of the islands of Leyte and Cebu that funneled the storm surge straight at Tacloban, which sits on a promontory in the channel. (
The shallow water forced the storm surge higher
Tacloban lies in the centre of the philippines where tropical storms cross from the pacific ocean towards southeast Asia - most affected region in the world by cyclones
High density of population and often overcrowded residential areas - people are made to be more vulnerable
Many of the people have built poorly constructed houses on the flat land nearest the sea and such locations make people there vulnerable to storm surges and flooding
Steep hillsides - also vulnerable to high rainfall
Preparation strategies before the event
PAGASA issued warnings about the approaching typhoon several days in advance
Schools, gyms, and public buildings were designated as evacuation centers, although some were later found to be inadequate during the disaster.
Communities in disaster-prone areas were trained in emergency drills and response strategies prior to typhoon season.
Residents were encouraged to prepare emergency kits with essential items, such as food, water, and first aid supplies.
Relief goods, medicine, and emergency equipment were stockpiled in preparation for distribution after the typhoon.
Search and rescue teams, medical personnel, and military units were put on standby to respond quickly once the typhoon struck.
Impacts
Primary:
Strong winds battered homes
People were made homeless, particularly around Western and Eastern Visayas
Electric was interrupted
Airport badly damaged
Roads blocked by fallen trees and debris
Leyte and Tacloban experiences a 5m storm surge, 400mm of rainfall flooded an area of up to 1km inland
90% of tacloban was destroyed
6190 people died
29,000 people injured
4.1 million made homeless
14.1 million affected
Overall cost in damage 12bn
1.1m tonnes of crops destroyed
1.1m houses damaged
1m farmers and 600,000 hectares of farmland affected
The main evacuation centre - Tacloban City Convention Centre - became a death trap because the storm surge entered the hall where people were sheltering
Secondary impacts:
Social:
Infection and diseases spread, mainly due to contaminated surface and groundwater
Survivors fought for food and supplies - 8 died in a stampede for food supplies
Power supplies were cut off for months in some areas
Education was disrupted as many schools were destroyed
Seawater, chemicals and sewerage contaminated surface and groundwater
Economic:
An oil tanker ran around, causing 800k litre oil leak that contaminated fishing waters
The airport was badly damaged and roads were blocked by debris and trees
Looting was rife, due to lack of food and supplies
Rice prices had risen by nearly 12% by 2014
Enviromental:
The leak from the oil barge led to 10 ha of mangroves being contaminated
Flooding caused landslides
Responses
Short term:
The government issued a televised warning to people to prepare and evacuate.
800,000 people were evacuated following a televised warning by the president.
The governmental response, at all scales, was criticised for being slow and people turned to looting to find food supplies.
Although the roads were undamaged, debris on them meant that rescue was slow.
The airport and harbours were closed so emergency teams had to travel slowly on foot, hampering aid distribution
Long term:
Rebuilding homes and recovering lost livelihoods are the two most critical issues. The “build back safer” campaign will take 3-4 years, especially for remote areas that suffered more wind damage than floods
A heartening feature was the lack of disease outbreaks, despite the loss of sanitation
21,000 families were still in 380 evacuation centres two months later, waiting to be rehoused in new bunkhouses to be built by the government
Philippines today
People and farmers still displaced as many didnt qualify for the new concrete resettlement sites and are still displaced and they feel no need to demand further support as they know their voices will not be heard
Due to farmers not having land rights
