A Review of the Nature and Impact of Environmental Disasters in the Philippines (original) (raw)

2005, Philippine Geographi Journal

Lack of systematic comparison of the frequency and impact of various types of environmental hazards is a deterrent to sound hazard management and to theory development on Philippine disasters. Government records over the past 25-35 years on ten classes of environmental hazards – tropical cyclones, floods, landslides, volcanoes, earthquakes, tsunamis, droughts, pest infestations, health diseases, and “technological accidents” – were thus compiled and synthesized. Impact was measured in terms of fatalities, houses completely destroyed, and monetary costs of damages. Technological accidents, floods, tropical cyclones are the three most frequent disasters while tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, and droughts occur the least. In terms of Peso value, droughts, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions are the most severe while pest outbreaks, landslides and health epidemics inflict the least monetary damages. Over the last 30 years or so, the costs of destructive floods, typhoons, and droughts appear to be generally increasing over time, highlighting Filipinos’ increased vulnerability to these environmental threats. Using the documented frequency and severity of environmental calamities in the country since 1970 and concepts suggested by Wildavsky (1988), a new framework for national government response to hazard mitigation is proposed. Three generic strategies are identified: resiliency (droughts, earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunamis), anticipation (typhoons, floods, pests) and prevention (landslides and health epidemics)