2.3 - Tropical Storm Case Study: Cebu, Philippines - Typhoon Haiyan (Paper 1)

Question 1

Explain the impacts of Typhoon Haiyan on Cebu: (3)

Answer 1

• As a result of Typhoon Haiyan, approximately 6,200 people in Cebu died. This is because with strong winds and heavy rainfall, there was flying debris and structures like roofs and pieces of concrete which were flung into buildings and houses where people lived. This lead to the death of lots of people and a catastrophic impact of typhon haiyan on Cebu.
• As well as tourism, the island of Cebu also relies on selling natural resources on the island, like coconut from coconut trees. Due to the damage from Typhoon Haiyan, this destroyed lots of vegetation on the island including 300,000 coconut trees. Due to these trees being destroyed, coconuts couldn’t be sold and this had an affect on the economy of the Philippines.
• In Cebu, out of the 900,000 people that lived on the island at the time, a whopping 600,000 people lost their homes as a result of this typhoon. Even after 2 months, 21,000 families were still staying in evacuation centres, waiting for their houses to be rebuilt or to be rehoused by the government.