Philippines | DRM Tidbits

The geographical location of the Philippines in the Pacific makes the country highly susceptible to natural hazards such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and typhoons. The country is part of the Pacific Ring of Fire, “an area encircling the Pacific Ocean where earthquakes and volcanic activity result from the movements of tectonic plates.” On the average, the country experiences five (5) imperceptible to perceptible earthquakes every day.  The country is also home to about 220 volcanoes. Of these, twenty-two (22) volcanoes have been recorded in history to have erupted, and five (5) are considered to be the most active namely: Taal, Mayon, Bulusan, Canlaon and Hibok-Hibok. Situated on the Pacific Typhoon Belt, the country is hit by an average of 20-30 typhoons every year, seven of which are highly destructive. Damage on infrastructure and agriculture caused by typhoons has cost the country up to P20 billion in a single year.  — [1]

ADPC’s strategies for urban disaster risk management:  –[2]

1. Through land use management
2. Through mainstreaming disaster risk reduction (DRR)
3. Through structural interventions
4. Through integrating DRR in socio-economic and livelihood programs focusing on urban poor
5. Through designing disaster recovery programs to suit long-term needs
6. Through promoting city-level early warning and alert dissemination to the urban communities
7. Through setting up an urban emergency response system
8. Through sharing of knowledge and good practices of urban DRM

Hyogo Priorities for Action:  –[3]

1. Ensure that disaster risk reduction is a national and a local priority with a strong institutional basis for implementation.
2. Identify, assess and monitor disaster risks and enhance early warning.
3. Use knowledge, innovation and education to build a culture of safety and resilience at all levels.
4. Reduce underlying risk factors.
5. Strengthen disaster preparedness for effective response at all levels.

Storms and floods proved to be a deadly combination for the Philippines for the period 2001-2010.  –[4]

• 116 disaster events
• 7,326 killed
• 43,426,854 affected
• US$2,121,292 in damages

References:

[1] http://www.cdp.org.ph/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/drrmbill-primer.pdf

[2] http://www.unescap.org/idd/events/2009_EGM-DRR/ADPC-ESCAP_Flood%20workshop_final.pdf

[3] http://www.unisdr.org/eng/hfa/intern-org/ProVention-contribution-HF.pdf

[4] http://www.emdat.be/result-country-profile?disgroup=natural&country=phl&period=2001$2010#summtable | EM-DAT: The OFDA/CRED International Disaster Database, http://www.emdat.be – Université catholique de Louvain – Brussels – Belgium