Phillipines, multiple hazard zone

What are some facts about the Philippines (islands, how many are habitable, population and pop density, location)

The Philippines is comprised of 7000 islands, 1000 of which are inhabited by people.

has a population of 102 million people

Population density of 332 people per km squared

Located on the Pacific ring of fire where there is subduction of the Phillippine plate and the Sunda plate

How are the Philippines affected by volcanic hazards?

Has 37 volcanoes, 18 of which are active, eg Mount Pinatubo

How are the Philippines affected by typhoons?

In a single week in 1989, typhoons Angela and Dan hit, causing 159 deaths and 500,000 becoming homeless.

How are the Philippines affected by earthquakes?

July 1990 Earthquake was one of the largest in the century,

all aforementioned hazards (volcanoes, typhoons and earthquakes) cause secondary hazards such as flooding and landslides.

How does deforestation (human factor) increase risk in the Philippines?

Deforestation and logging on hilltops means the ground can become easily saturated with water, large areas of earth may become structurally unsound as tree roots hold it together.

Increases the risk of landslides and floods.

1991 floods and landslides thought to be partially triggered by this.

How does poverty (human factor) affect risk in the Philippines?

The Philippines is an LIC where the majority of the population is in poverty.

Means that disasters have an even larger economic impact, makes it harder for governments to invest in advanced protection and mitigation strategies.

How does Landlessness (human factor) affect risk in the Philippines?

Landlessness (people not having security or tenure over their land)

Means that there is a lot of rural to urban migration, people frequently build squatter settlements to live in.

10% of the Philippines population live in self built homes.

These squatter settlements are easily destroyed by hazards.

What management strategies is the Filipino government adopting?

government planning to invest more into detection and education strategies to reduce the death toll of disasters.

2009 Philippine government passed Disaster Risk management act to help increase resilience and reduce risk.

included: removing illegal settlers from areas prone to hazards.

There is an advisory system for meteorological events and monitoring of volcanoes, mapping of fault systems in Manilla

Preparing contingency plans, hazard zoning maps, land use rules.