Disaster Hotspot Case Study- The Phillipines Flashcards
Where is the Philippines?
A group of islands in south-east Asia with a vulnerable population at risk from a variety of hazards.
Volcanoes in the Philippines.
Near destructive plate boundary, where the Philippine plate is being sub-ducted beneath the Eurasian plate.
Islands formed by combination of flooding at boundary and volcanoes formed from magma risen.
Mount Pinatubo is a volcano that erupted in 1991:
- 350 people died
- 80 000 hectares of farmland were buried beneath ash
- Economic losses = US$710 million
Tectonic risks in the Philippines.
The Philippines lies on the boundary between two tectonic plates, the Philippine and
Eurasian. The Eurasian Plate is forced beneath the Philippine, creating the deep Manila Ocean
Trench, to the west. The plates move in a series of ‘jerks’, producing an earthquake each time they
do so.
Landslides in the Philippines.
Gets a lot of rain- lot in a short space of time in steep slopes = landslides.
Triggered by earthquakes.
One occurred on Leyte Island in 2006 after heavy rain for 10 day- whole village buried killing hundreds.
Typhoons in the Philippines.
Have around 10 typhoons every year.
They develop in the Pacific Ocean and move westward over the islands.
Typhoon Xangsane swept across Manila and the surrounding densely populated area in the North in 2006. High winds and torrential rain destroyed homes and caused flooding, landlsides and the loss of power and water.
Tsunamis in the Philippines.
Earthquakes in any of the oceans surrounding the Philippines could cause a tsunami.
In 1976 an earthquake of magnitude 7.9 caused a tsunami that hit the coastline around the Moro Gulf on the southern island of Mindanao. Thousands were killed and several cities devastated.
Droughts in the Philippines.
Some parts of the Philippines have a distinct wet and dry season.
Drought can occur when the wet season hasn’t brought enough rain to last the dry season, or the dry season is particularly harsh.
There was a drought on Luzon island in 2005, the reduction in rainfall decreased water flow in rivers, which affected power production from hydroelectric power plants. This affected the power supply to the entire region.
Flooding in the Philippines.
During the wet season, floods can be caused by typhoons and heavy rain.
Flooding affects many areas, even some that are also affected by drought.
Major floods occurred in lowland areas around Manila in the 70’s and in recent years. Crops were devastated in this major rice growing region.
Why is the population of the Philippines vulnerable?
High population density
Population pressures have led to deforestation of upland areas for agriculture- landslides.
Fast growing economy but many below poverty line.
Many people live in unstable locations, e.g the Aeta tribe were living on the slopes of Mount Pinatubo when it erupted in 1991.
What kind of plate boundary does the Philippines lie on?
Destructive.
