HISTORIC CALAMITIES IN THE PHILIPPINES.pdf

HISTORIC CALAMITIES IN THE PHILIPPINES

1. HISTORIC
CALAMITIES IN
THE
PHILIPPINES

2. Although it sounds pessimistic, anyone is at risk when
disasters strike. The words calamity and disaster are
commonly perceived to mean the same thing. Calamity
comes from the Latin word "calamitatem" which was
first used by the English during the Medieval Period in
Europe to refer to sufferings caused by being unlucky
or losing. The French word for "disaster" is desastre
while in Italian it is disastro. Until the 16th century, the
French and Italians used the word "disaster" to literally
mean "bad star." These words were based on the Greek
word dis, which means not, and aster which means star,
to refer to natural and man-made tragedies that are
related to the positions of stars and planets.
INTRODUCTION

3. According to the Philippine Risk Reduction
Management Act of 2010, disaster refers to the
severe destruction of a community that involves the
loss of many lives, properties, and livelihood and
destruction of the environment that surpass the
ability of the affected community to recover using
their own skills and funds. "State of calamity" is a
condition in which many people lost their lives and
properties, livelihood, bridges, and roads were
destroyed. By defining these terms, we would be
able to understand that the discussion is going to
center on disasters and how these can be stopped
or prevented.
INTRODUCTION

4. DISASTERS IN
THE
PHILIPPINES

5. NATURAL
CALAMITIES
the Philippines is most likely to experience
disaster among Southeast Asian nations while it
is third in the world according to the World
Disasters Report in 2012. From 1990 to 2009,
the number of calamity experienced by the
country reached 237. This data was supported
by the World Bank in its study conducted in
2009 that states the Philippines ranked 8th out
of 60 countries in the Asia Pacific that
experienced most calamities. The Philippine
Disaster Report in 2012 stated that there were
more Filipinos who died in calamities than any
other nationalities.
In 2013, there were 6 190 Filipinos died
because of typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan). For one,
the country is part of the typhoon belt in the
Pacific Ocean, which explains why there are at
least 20 typhoons that pass the country
annually. Second, the Philippines is part of the
Pacific Ring of Fire and this is why eruption of
volcanoes and earthquakes are common in
the country. These calamities contribute to the
existence of disasters like tsunamis,
increasing water level, storm surge, landslide,
excessive flooding, and drought.

6. EL NIÑO
Drought brought about by El Niño
The El Niño phenomenon is an abnormal weather condition
brought about by the warming of the Pacific Ocean. From 2009 up
to the 1st quarter of 2010, there were 2.9 million people who were
affected by El Niño and the amount of livelihood it ruined cost Php
12.1 billion. Region 2, along with nine other regions, was the worst
to be hit by El Niño. As a result, water level in major dams,
especially in Luzon, went critically down which affected the supply
of water for irrigation and for household use in most part of the
country. According to PAGASA the following conditions can be
experienced during El Niño: shift in the schedule of rainy season,
short rainy season, monsoon weakening, weak storms, lesser
rains, and high temperature.

7. TROPICAL
CYCLONES
Tropical Cyclones
There are 20 typhoons that enter the country annually and these
can be categorized according to the strength of the wind they
carry, which can be measured using the public storm signal (from
Signal No. 1 to Signal No. 5). In 2009, after the tremendous flood
during typhoon Ondoy, PAGASA included in its public warnings the
amount of rain brought by storms that enter the Philippine Area of
Responsibility (PAR).

8. VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS
AND EARTHQUAKES
Volcanic Eruptions and Earthquakes
Aside from being in the typhoon belt, the Philippines is also part of
the Pacific Ring of Fire where volcanic eruptions and earthquakes
are frequent. This is because of oceanic trenches, volcanic arcs,
volcanic belts, and plate movements. The Ring of Fire is
composed on 452 volcanoes, which is 75 % of the worlds active
and inactive volcanoes.

9. TSUNAMIS AND
STORM SURGES
Tsunamis and Storm Surges
The Philippines also depends a lot on its fishing activities. The bountiful
resources of the Philippines seas encourage many Filipinos to settle
near the seawater despite the threats it brings. One of these is the
threat of tsunami. The word tsunami comes from the Japanese words
tsu and nami which means harbor waves or waves in the shore. Most of
the tsunamis that hit the Philippines came from the Philippine Trench,
Manila Trench, and the Cotabato Trench. One of the most disastrous
tsunamis that hit the country was the one that happened on August 16,
1976 at the Moro Gulf. This resulted from a 7.9 magnitude earthquake
that killed 5 000-8 000 people.

10. MAN-MADE DISASTERS
CAUSED BY ABUSING
THE ENVIRONMENT

11. LANDSLIDES
Landslides
Landslide is the enormous movement of stones that
cause the collapse of a part of a land. This usually
happens because of calamities such as earthquakes and
heavy rain. However, landslides are normally due to the
activities of people such as quarrying and logging that
cause the destruction

12. FLOOD
Flood
The country is composed of high and low lands. If forests
are already bare, it will further increase the chances of
low lands being flooded even with little amount of rain.
Because of this, the Office of Civil Defense released a
list of places in the Philippines that are flood-prone. This
is to warn people so that they would be able to come up
with programs that address flooding problems in their
particular area and so that residents could prepare for
the effects that flooding might cause them.

13. OIL SPILLS AND TOXIC
MINE TAILINGS
Oil Spills and Toxic Mine Tailings
On February 2, 2000 a ship owned by a Singaporean
company was believed to have spilled oil in the part of
the sea near Sual, Pangasinan. This oil spill damaged 2
700 meters of coral reef and killed many aquatic
resources.

14. CLIMATE AND
WEATHER

15. CLIMATE AND WEATHER
Both climate and weather are affected by the
temperature, precipitation, heat from the sun, air, clouds,
and humidity. The weather and climates systems have
big effects on the people especially in their work and the
distribution of vegetation and the usage of land. Other
factors that affect the climate and weather includes the
latitude, land and water resources, geographical location,
prevailing winds, land elevation, ocean currents, and wind
system.

16. refers to the daily
changes in the
atmosphere of one
place.
DIFFERENCES
WEATHER
refers to the general
condition of the
atmosphere of a
place.
CLIMATE

17. AND I THANK
YOU!