Disaster Hotspot - The Philippines

Disaster Hotspot... The Philippines

The Philippine Islands are situated directly south of the eastern edge of China. The Philippines consists of over 7,000 islands. It lies in a belt of tropical storms and next to an active, destructive plate boundary between the Philippine plate and the Eurasian plate. The port of Manila in Luzon is the capital and is the second largest city.

Disasters in the Philippines:

• Flooding
• Earthquakes
• Volcanoes
• Typhoons
• Droughts
• 

Flooding

**A flood is defined as a rising body of water and the way is overflows onto normally dry land**

There are a variety of causes of flooding in the Philippines.

One cause of flooding is the heavy monsoon rain. From June to September the Philippines have a wet, rainy season. During this prolonged period of rainfall, the ground becomes saturated, this causes surface run off.

Another cause is tropical storms. They often bring heavy rain with them and cause storm surges in coastal areas and in towns near esturies.

The effects of the flooding can vary depending on what caused the flood and how much water is present. A main consequence of flooding is loss of life. There are other consequences such as loss of property, loss of income, destruction of habitats and wildlife and contamination of food or water supplies.

Earthquakes

**An earthquake is the result of a sudden movement in the Earths Crust that creates seismic waves.**

The earthquakes in this region are caused by the destructive boundary between the Philippine and the…