Disaster hotspot: The Philppines

Why is the Philippines population vulnerable?
1. Series of 7000 small islands
2. High population density
  1. 41-60% of people live in poverty = low capacity to cope
  2. 45% of the population are under 18
  3. Average of 240 people per km squared
The Philippines falls on a destructive plate boundary and is also located in the Pacific ring of fire.
Mount Pinatubo (1991)
1. June 7th - first magma reached the surface. June 12th saw that large amounts of gas charged magma reached the surface, then finally on June 15th the volcano exploded into a huge erruption.
  1. 847 people were killed initially, mostly from roof collapses.
    1. 2.1 million people affected
      1. Damage to crops/property: $374 million
        Eruption affected ozone levels
        Agriculture affected
        The Red Cross, Action Aid and Oxfam provided food/blankets in evacuation camps
Typhoon Haiyan (2013)
1. Scored category 5 on the Saffir-Simpson scale
  1. Started from an area of low pressure several hundred km east of Pohnpei.
    1. There were 6,300 confirmed casualties
      1. Storm surges caught people off guard resulting in many deaths
        Trees were uprooted and mud/debris decorated streets
    2. Many structures were destroyed
Disasters in the Philippines
1. Earthquakes
  1. e.g, Manila
2. Landslides
3. Volcanic erruptions
4. Flooding
5. Typhoons
6. Tsunamis

Resource summary

	Created by Lauren Slavin about 9 years ago