Hazard Hotspot-Philippines

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  • Created by: Aisling
  • Created on: 08-05-13 10:36

Philippines Disaster Hotspot

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

-Group of Islands in SE Asia

-Sits across a mojor plate boundart= Volcanoes, earthquakes

-Its nothern and eastern coasts face thePacific making it vulnerable to Tsunamis

-It lies within the South East Aisa Typhoon Belt meaning it is affected by 15 typhoons a year

-Landslides are common in the moutain districts

-Over populated= 91 million in 2007

-Middle income country according to the World Bank

-Mostly mountainous, with coastal lowlands and many people live and work on steeply sloping land

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Philippines- Volcanoes

1) Near a DESTRUCTIVE plate boundary, where the Philipppine plate is being subducted beneath the Eurasian plate

2) Volcanoes form from the magme that has risen to the surface from the mantle below

Example: Mount Pinatubo 1992

-Biggest the world had seen for over 50 years

-30km exclusion zone was created

-Two weeks before the blast they produced a video outlining the risks of pyroclastic flows and lahars

-200 000 people were evactuated

-20km Ash cloud

-Effective monitoring and management reduced death and injury toll to just over 4300 people

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Philippines- Earthquakes

1) The Philippine plate and the Eurasian plate become locked together as one moves under the other. This causes pressure to build up. When the pressure is too much, the plates jerk, causing an earthquake

2) Occur daily but most can't be felt (low on richter scale)

Example: Luzon Island 1990

-Killed over 1500 people

-Triggered Landslides which engulfed towns and buried many people

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Philippines- Typhoons and Landslides

TYPHOONS

-Have around 15 a year

-They develop in the Pacific Ocean and move Westwards over the islands

EXAMPLE: Typhoon Xangsane 2006

-Swept across Manila and the surrounding densely populated area

-High winds and torrential rains destroyed homes and caused flooding and landslides

LANDSLIDES:

-If a lot of rain falls in a short space of time in areas with steep slopes, landslides can occur

Example: Leyte Island 2006

-Heavy rainfall in 10 days  + deforestation + a 2.6 earthquake resulted in a Lanslide killing 1000s

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Philippines- Tsunamis

1) Earthquakes in the Pacific ocean surrounding the Philippines could cause a tsunami

Example:

-1976

-Earthquake 7.9 caused a tsunami that hit the coastline around the Moro Gulf on the southern island of Mindanao

-1000s were kills and several cities were devasted

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Philippines-Droughts and Floods

DROUGHTS

-Have distinct wet and dry season- dry between november + april- Wet between May and October

-Drought occurs when wet seaon hasnt brought enough rain to last the dry season

Example: Luzon Island 2005

-Decreased water flow into the rivers which affected power production from hydro electric power plants. Which affected the whole power supply

FLOODING:

-Can be caused by Typhoons and heavy rain

Example:

-Major flooding occured in the lowland areas around Manila 1970s devastating homes and crops

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Philippines-Vulnerable Population

1) Philippines is densely populated- hazards are more likely to become disasters. E.G. Manila and Luzon are more at risk because they are densely populated

2) Population pressures have led to deforestation for agriculture. This increases the risk of Lanslides

3) Has a fast growing economy but there are still many below the poverty line who will be less able to cope

4) Some fast growing settlements have been built near hazardous areas e.g. Angeles was built near Mount Pinatubo

5) Many live in unstable locations e.g. Aeta Tribe were living on the slopes of Mount Pinatubo

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