Val Jason G.

Lagrada BS Chemistry – 4 Chem 84

‘THE POTENTIAL DAMAGE TO BUKIDNON HAD TYPHOON YOLANDA HIT

THE PROVINCE’

INTRODUCTION

Typhoon Haiyan, locally known as Yolanda, made landfall

crossed and hardly hit the central part of the Philippines in

early November 2013, causing heavy rainfall, flash floods and

landslides causing massive devastation across multiple

islands especially in Visayas Regions. Having unprecedented

power, Joint Typhoon Warning Center assessed typhoon Yolanda as

Super Typhoon (Category 5) and considered to be the strongest to

made a landfall in the history.

According to the satellite data peak, it has a wind gusts of

380 kph. With maximum wind speeds of around 300 kph, an

extraordinary high storm surge and torrential rain the typhoon

swallowed houses and people, destroyed boats and fishing inputs

and left the majority of homes either completely destroyed or

uninhabitable. The typhoon leave more than 6,200 dead, 1,785

missing, 28,000 wounded and displaced around 4 million

people despite the preparedness measures and evacuations

undertaken by the national authorities.

The storm affected 44 provinces and 10,436 barangays in 575

municipalities when it hit land. Particularly affected were many

of the poorest communities whose already stressed circumstances

were even further compromised by the storm.

POTENTIAL DAMAGE TO BUKIDNON OF TYPHOON YOLANDA

Approximately 650 kilometres south of the regions affected

lies a province known for its biggest pineapple plantation

worldwide. Bukidnon is a landlocked province in Northern

Mindanao. It is a highland paradise in the heart of Mindanao.

Bukidnon is the 4th largest province in the Philippines in terms

of land area.

Bukidnon is subdivided into 20 municipalities and 2

component cities. Its capital is Malaybalay City, which is 101km

away from the Region’s Industrial Hub, Cagayan de Oro City.

Bukidnon is the 4th largest province in the Philippines in terms

of land area.

Bukidnon has vast agricultural resources which are highly

suitable for almost all types of crops. It is the 2 nd largest

producer of corn in the country and is one of the major supplier

of rice, sugar, coffee, rubber, tomato and wide variety of fruits

and vegetables making the province the Food Basket of Mindanao.

In addition the province is one of the major supplier of poultry

products, hogs and cattle. Sugar refineries also major source of

income to the people of Bukidnon.

 The province is experiencing two types of climate, Type III

in Central Bukidnon and Type IV in the rest of Bukidnon. The

province is outside the typhoon belt. The mean annual temperature

is 24.04°C with maximum and minimum temperature of 29.6°C and

18.5°C, respectively. The annual average rainfall is 2,581.84m.

It is located outside the typhoon belt and enjoys a climate

that is favourable to agriculture and industrial activities.

What will happen if a typhoon with winds up to 315 kph as

powerful as Yolanda hit Metro Manila? WHAT if a disaster of

cataclysmic proportions hits Metro Manila, home to more than 15

million Filipinos—and the seat of the nation’s capital?

Thousands of lives will be lost and casualties can run to

millions. It will be a harrowing sight that will surely bring the

nation to its knees. That is, if we consider the potential

disasters on a grand scale, such as the recent earthquake in

Bohol and typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) that razed big parts of Leyte

to the ground.

What if, instead of the Visayas, Yolanda took a path straight

through the heart of the National Capital Region?

The resulting storm surge would drive the waters of the Laguna

Lake inland and inundate the lakeside barangays of Laguna and

drown millions of people. The loss of lives and damage to

property would be triple the Visayas count.

 Although storm surge is impossible in Bukidnon due to its

strategic location, a typhoon with a

Although storm surge is