Philippines Typhoon

Super Typhoon Haiyan as it surges across the Philippines. Courtesy of NASA Earth Observatory

Over the past weekend, one of the most powerful storms ever recorded struck the central Philippines, killing at least 10,000 people (the current estimate) and destroying 70-80% of all structures in its path. Typhoon Haiyan hit land last Friday as a category 5 typhoon, and has displaced at least 480,000 people and affected over four million across 36 provinces in one way or another. The bulk of the deaths are currently believed to have been caused by surging sea waters in a tsunami-like fashion, which leveled houses and drowned anyone in the way. The winds associated with this storm were also a big factor, being estimated at about 235 miles per hour. The relief efforts have been strained to say the least, after a 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck central Bohol province last month, displacing many people, as well as a current conflict with Muslim rebels in Zamboanga province. On top of that, the chairman of the Red Cross in the Philippines says that mobs have been attacking trucks loaded with food, water, and tents in Leyte, that were inbound to help locals. President Aquino has deployed about 300 soldiers to try and restore order in the area and is considering martial law or a state of emergency to ensure security.

This is pretty much a worst-case scenario right now in the Philippines. Not only do we have one of the worst storms ever seen, but it struck in an area where population density is fairly high and buildings are constructed fairly weakly. That was recipe for disaster on its own. But on top of it, there are other factors at play in the region, including another disaster that happened a month ago, which were already draining their resources. You could argue for better preparedness as a way to prevent this mess, but how can one fairly assume that one area would be struck by two major events in a month's span? The big issue here is building construction, and maybe the warning system. Why were so many people still around when the waves came ashore? This is a high-risk region when it comes to typhoons and earthquakes, but this storm was much larger than any that came before it. Perhaps some people were just used to a high frequency of lower magnitude events, and were caught off guard when a rare, extremely high magnitude event finally happened.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-typhoon-philippines-20131110,0,3220526.story