Disasters

THE economic cost of the more than 400 natural and man-made disasters that hit the country last year was a staggering P26 billion, the Citizens’ Disaster Response Center (CDRC) disclosed on Tuesday.

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines topped the disaster league table last year with 33 major reported events, affecting 12.5 percent of the population, according to the UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR).

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines continued to experience severe weather events in 2011 that killed thousands of people, highlighting the country’s increasing vulnerability to the effects of climate change and environmental degradation.

Antipolo City, Agusan, Quezon, Albay may also be hit by massive floods THE tragedy that hit the cities of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan in Northern Mindanao may also happen in 18 other areas tagged by the Climate Change Congress of the PhilIPPINES (CCCP) AS PRONE TO floods and landslides, it was learned on Thursday.

MANILA, Philippines – Sen. Loren Legarda yesterday urged the government to immediately complete the mapping of areas vulnerable to flooding to prevent the occurrence of floods similar to Bangkok’s.

REPUBLIC SERVICE Ricardo  Saludo The disaster movie 2012 used special effects to depict imaginary scenes of skyscraping cities lacerated by earthquakes and engulfed by rising seas and erupting lava. In her lecture a week ago, titled “2012 (Not the Movie): A Practical Guide to Disaster Risk and Preparedness,” Manila Observatory executive director Maria Antonia Yulo…

Criss-crossed by active faults and located in the “bulls-eye” of storms, the Philippines is the world’s third “riskiest” country and is more vulnerable to rising sea-levels, subsiding land and warming temperatures than Solomon Islands in the Pacific Ocean.

THE Philippines ranked third out of 173 countries in the world considered as most vulnerable to disaster risks and natural hazards of the United Nations’ (UN) World Risk Index this despite existing laws aimed at disaster mitigation and climate risk.

Last of two parts TUWID na Daan, Lunod na Bayan. That could well be the sad commentary on the past year, when urgent flood control projects were delayed by rebid-ding, denying flood-prone areas of Luzon the needed repairs on dikes, seawalls, riverbank protection, and other rehabilitation work to safeguard lives and livelihoods in the event…

CEBU, Philippines – Majority of local government units (LGUs) in Central Visayas are now proactive in implementing measures to mitigate the effects of disasters such as activating their own local disaster risk reduction management councils down to the barangay level.

MANILA, Philippines – The World Bank has opened a $500-million credit line for the Philippines to help the country improve its natural disaster preparedness program.

Sen. Edgardo Angara called for an improved disaster management system in the country following the release of a United Nations report listing the Philippines among the top five most vulnerable to natural disasters.

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines ranked third among 173 countries in terms of vulnerability to disaster risks and natural hazards, a study showed.

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines is third top country in the world most at risk of disasters, a new study said.

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Education (DepEd) has issued guidelines on the use of its P500-million disaster Quick Response Fund (QRF) to promote “more prudent” spending of the funds.

10 Frequently Asked Questions 10 Are magnitude and intensity of an earthquake the same? They are not. Magnitude is a measure of the energy that is released during an earthquake, while intensity is a description of the variable shaking that is experienced in different areas.

UNITED NATIONS—Some 27.5 million people have been displaced within their countries by natural disaster, famine and war, the highest number in a decade, according to a new report released Wednesday.

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine capital is woefully unprepared for a major quake that could hit at any time and kill tens of thousands of people, flattening nearly half the city’s homes, experts warn.

CEBU CITY, Philippines—Central Visayas officials have vowed to prepare all their cities and towns resilient for disaster and are the biggest group so far to have committed to the Disaster Risk Reduction Campaign launched here on Thursday.

MANILA, Philippines – While the country was battered by several strong typhoons this year, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) was likewise hit by an internal tempest that left its chief weatherman the lone casualty.

MANILA, Philippines—The Department of Interior and Local Government is pushing for the expansion of the use of calamity fund to include the purchase of disaster preparedness equipment to avert huge damages during calamities.

MANILA, Philippines – Parliamentarians from 10 Asian countries have urged governments in the region to allocate at least one percent of their national budgets to projects designed to strengthen disaster risk reduction, the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR) said.

ANNUAL GLOBAL losses from natural disasters, excluding the impact of climate change, could triple to $185 billion by the end of the century, a joint report from the World Bank and the United Nations (UN) released Thursday night showed.

MANILA, Philippines – The government has improved its disaster preparedness program in the face of the recent report of a multinational risk consultancy firm that claimed the country’s preparedness measures remained deficient.

MANILA, Philippines—A “gaping disconnect” between government claims and reality on the ground is putting disaster preparedness in the Philippines on the brink of disaster, a multinational risk consultancy firm said in a recent report.

REGULATORS want to introduce a “three-in-one” product to the fledgling microinsurance market, capitalizing on the Filipinos’ penchant for cheap, convenient products and to boost protection for the poor.

LA TRINIDAD, Benguet, Philippines—The province has more reasons now to beef up its disaster preparedness and climate change adaptation measures following an assessment that found it as the country’s second most vulnerable area to climate hazards, next to Metro Manila.

AQUINO HIT FOR UNWARRANTED BACKSLAPPING President Aquino’s backslapping on government officials for doing their job in preparation for super typhoon “Juan” received criticism from an Asian security risk intelligence firm, saying that it was unwarranted since there is no significant headway in government efforts to soften the impact on the country of frequent natural calamities.

STATE-RUN Social Security SSS (SSS) said members affected by Typhoon Juan can avail of the pension fund’s salary and house repair loan programs. “We have a huge delinquency in short-term loans. But those affected by the recent typhoon can still avail of salary and house repair loans,” Emilio de Quiros Jr., SSS president, said in…

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines’ disaster preparedness and management measures remain deficient despite claims that the country has learned its lesson from previous typhoons, a multinational risk consultancy firm said.