Hydrometeorological phenomena is

a process or phenomenon of
atmospheric, hydrological or
oceanographic nature that may
cause loss of life, injury or other
health impacts, property damage,
loss of livelihoods and services,
social and economic disruption, or
environmental damage. It includes
monsoons, tropical cyclones, floods,
and tornadoes. They cause damage
in terms of human consequences,
economic consequences, and
environmental degradation.
For example, in 1991, Typhoon
Yunya hit Mount Pinatubo on
the Philippines island of Luzon
and triggered lahars that,
according to Masters, killed as
many as 300 people. Yunya,
barely a typhoon at that time,
delivered a glancing blow to
Mt. Pinatubo as the
mountain—coincidentally—
ended almost a year of fitful
activity with the 20th century's
second-most-monstrous
volcanic explosion. The lahars
easily inflicted more damage
than the eruption.
 The Extreme Weather
▪ Due to global warming and climate change, natural hazards are expected to increase.
These extreme weather events have a high impact on the world.
▪ According to UNESCO, the following hydrometeorological hazards have one of the highest
impacts:

Floods affect every country

and cause more fatalities and
more property damage than
any other type of hazard. Not
only does it cause injuries and
deaths, but floods can also
disrupt water purification and
sewage disposal systems and
can cause toxic water waste Droughts, while floods and
sited to overflow. storms are often sudden,
droughts are slow events that
can cause massive agro-
ecological damage and
seriously disrupt socio-
economic life.

Hurricanes, cyclones, and

typhoons are severe storms that
form over tropical water.
Windstorm-related events
worldwide cause an average of
30,000 deaths and US$2.3 billion
in damage each year.
Typhoon Mangkhut, also known as Ompong in the
Philippines, begun forming in the Pacific Ocean 10 days
before it reached the country, and quickly intensified to a
Category 5–equivalent super typhoon with sustained winds
of 125 miles an hour by September 11. Its path took it
westward, across the Philippines, then into Hong Kong and
southeastern China, where it has been downgraded to a
tropical storm after tearing up villages and cities, flooding
coastlines and plains causing massive landslides. At least
50 people are known to have been killed by Mangkhut in
the Philippines.

Super Typhoon Mangkhut / Ompong hitting Santa

Ana in northern Philippines on 15th Sept 2018

Rainfall covered the city as strong winds

batter houses and buildings lying in the
path of Typhoon Mangkhut as it make a
landfall in Tuguegarao city, northern
Philippines, on September 15, 2018.
A storm surge is a rise in sea level
that occurs during tropical cyclones,
intense storms also known as
typhoons or hurricanes. The storms
produce strong winds that push the
water into shore, which can lead to
flooding. This makes storm surges
very dangerous for coastal regions.
 Due to the location and geographical context as the risk involving
coastal hazards such as typhoons, storm surges and rising sea
▪ According to researchers, the Philippines is the 3rd levels is high. Also, as the islands are located within the “Ring of
most disaster-prone country, new study shows. Fire” between the Eurasian and Pacific tectonic plates,
▪ After Pacific countries Tonga and Vanuatu, the earthquakes and volcanoes are posing serious risks to the safety
Philippines ranks as the third most disaster-prone of the populace.
country in the world because of its high exposure to
natural calamities, a new international report showed.
▪ The World Disaster Report 2012, released in
Brussels on October 11, also said that the Philippines
could spare up to 20 million of its people—about a fifth
of its total population—from natural disasters by
improving the protection of its coral reefs, a primary
line of defense against coastal hazards, including
tsunamis.
▪ Tropical and coastal nations led the list of 15
countries at high risk for disasters, owing to their
proximity to the sea that exposes them to the natural
hazards of cyclones, flooding, and sea-level rise.
▪ The report's list of the top 15 most-at-risk nations
included Guatemala, Bangladesh, Solomon Islands,
Costa Rica, Cambodia, Timor-Leste, El Salvador,
Brunei Darussalam, Papua New Guinea, Mauritius,
Nicaragua, and Fiji.
 ▪ It includes the extreme
natural events such as
hurricanes, coastal storms,
and tsunamis, as well as
longer-term risks of
coastal erosion and sea-
level rise.

Coastal storms

Coastal
erosion

Tsunamis

Coastal and shelf sea processes include wind, climate, waves, currents, and tides. These processes influence
the distribution of sediment, salinity, and water-borne particles that shape the coast, seabed, water quality, and
distribution of marine life. These are unavoidable occurrences driven by nature and amplified by human action.
They cause damage to the shorelines through coastal erosion, submersion, and saltwater intrusion.
It is the process by which local sea level rise, strong wave action, and coastal flooding wear down or
carry away rocks, soils, and/or sands along the coast. All coastlines are affected by storms and other
natural events that cause erosion; the combination of storm surge at high tide with additional effects
from strong waves—conditions commonly associated with landfalling tropical storms—creates the most
damaging conditions. The extent and severity of the problem is worsening with global sea level rise, but
it differs in different parts of the country, so there is no one-size-fits-all solution.

Erosion is the wearing away of the land by the sea. This

often involves destructive waves wearing away the
coast.
 Abrasion occurs as
breaking waves that
contain sand, and
larger fragments
erode the shoreline
or headland.
Corrasion is when waves
pick up beach material
(e.g., pebbles) and hurl
them at the base of a cliff.

Hydraulic action is commonly

known as the sandpaper effect.
When waves hit the base of a cliff,
the air is compressed into cracks.
When the wave retreats, the air
rushes out of the gap. Often, this
causes cliff material to break away.

Corrosion/
solution is
when
certain
types of cliff
erode as a
result of Attrition is when waves cause rocks and
weak acids pebbles to bump into each other and
in the sea.
break up.
▪ Submersion is when the sediment is submersed
underwater and eventually replaced to its original
location.
▪ This often takes place during violent storms, when
sand is dragged or pushed underwater, and tends to
return to the visible place (via wave action) it had
previously been when the seas have calmed down. At
its most extreme, submersion can temporarily
submerse an island, and create islands as well.
▪ When sea levels rise, submersion has a larger impact,
and this cannot be good for island biodiversity. If or
when an island that had previously not been affected
by submersion is suddenly at risk, trees, plants, and
animals are at risk.
▪ If the submersion of the island becomes regular, it will
be more difficult for plants to grow and flourish, which
begins a new cycle of coastal erosion and the negative
impacts that come with it, including increased erosion
and possibly permanent loss of the island, depending
on how much of an island it is. The island below is
very vulnerable to these threats, but an island like
Hawaii would not be as such.
▪ Saltwater intrusion or encroachment is the movement
of saltwater into underground sources (aquifers) of
freshwater, which can occur in coastal regions or inland,
and the surface movement of saltwater inland from the
coast.
▪ Most common in coastal regions, where the freshwater is
displaced by the inland movement of saltwater from the
ocean. But it can also occur inland, far away from an
ocean, as freshwater is pumped out from underground
reservoirs and the salt-laden water from surrounding salty
layers of the Earth flow in.
▪ The most common cause of saltwater intrusion is
the pumping of fresh water from wells near
coasts. Climate change can increase saltwater
encroachment along coastal regions as sea-
level rises. Increased salinity of coastal freshwater can
threaten the plant life and wildlife of coastal areas,
destroy habitats such as marshes, and force the
abandonment of drinking-water supplies.
Name Year Maximum Casualties
wind speed
(mph)
Frank June 17, 2008 125 1300 dead
(category 3) 80 missing
Ondoy September 102 700 dead
23, 2009 (category 2)
Juan October 8, 185 69 dead
2010 (category 5) 4 missing
Pablo November 175 100 dead
25, 2012 (category 5) 800 missing
Yolanda November 8, 200 5000 dead
2013 (category 5) 1000 missing
There are government and non-
government initiatives to mitigate
hydrometeorological hazards through
warning systems like:
▪ flood hazard maps,
▪ storm surge color-coded systems,
▪ color-coded rainfall and
▪ flood warning systems, and public storm
warnings.
▪ Project NOAH (Nationwide Operational Assessment
of Hazards)
▪ Project NOAH is the Department of Science and
Technology’s (DOST) response to the call of
President Benigno S. Aquino III for a more accurate,
integrated, and responsive disaster prevention and
mitigation system, especially in high-risk areas
throughout the Philippines.
The Project will harness technologies and management
services for disaster risk reduction activities offered by
the DOST through PAGASA, PHIVOLCS, and the
DOST-Advanced Science and Technology
Institute (ASTI), in partnership with the UP
National Institute of Geological Sciences and
the UP College of Engineering.
▪ Distribution of Hydrometeorological Devices in hard-hit areas in the
Philippines (Hydromet).
▪ Disaster Risk Exposure Assessment for Mitigation
▪ Enhancing Geohazards Mapping through LIDAR.
▪ Coastal Hazards and Storm Surge Assessment and Mitigation (CHASSAM).
▪ Flood Information Network (FloodNET) Project.
▪ Local Development of Doppler Radar Systems (LaDDeRS).
▪ Weather Hazard Information Project (WHIP).
▪ Landslide Sensors Development Project.
▪ The National Meteorological and Hydrological Services agency of the
Republic of the Philippines is mandated to provide protection against
natural disasters through weather monitoring, forecasting and
prediction modeling, and related alerts.
▪ The goal is to serve as the central agency for everyone to rely on
during all phases of disasters. Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and
Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) provides information
through various ICT including online, radio, TV, mobile alerts, and even
works with village-level focal points to quickly spread alerts among
citizens during emergencies.
▪ The agency also monitors and reports weather and climate in relation
to aviation, marine activity, agriculture, and emphasizes tropical
cyclones and floods as these hazards are prevalent locally. It plays a
critical role in all the phases of disasters and is a major contributor to
the e-resilience of the country.
 Philippines current climate pattern:
PHILIPPINES: Bracing for La Niña

▪ La Niña is a climate pattern that describes the cooling of surface ocean waters along the tropical west coast of
South America. La Nina is considered to be the counterpart to El Nino, which is characterized by unusually
warm ocean temperatures in the equatorial region of the Pacific Ocean and by lower-than-normal air pressure
over the western Pacific. These low-pressure zones contribute to increased rainfall.

▪ Both El Niño and La Niña affect patterns of rainfall, atmospheric pressure, and global atmospheric
circulation. Atmospheric circulation is the large-scale movement of air that, together with ocean currents,
distributes thermal energy on the surface of the Earth. These changes are the main sources of variability in
climate for many areas worldwide.
▪ However, strong La Niña events are associated with catastrophic floods in northern Australia. The 2010 La
Niña event correlates with one of the worst floods in the history of Queensland, Australia. More than 10,000
people were forced to evacuate, and damage from the disaster was estimated at more than $2 billion.

▪ Now, the Philippines is bracing for severe flooding over the next few months due to the La Niña weather
effect, which can give an above-normal rainfall condition and are expected over some parts of the country in
the coming several months. Potential adverse impacts of the developing La Nina; include floods and landslide
over vulnerable areas with varying magnitude. Some specialists are saying the country is not adequately
prepared.
El Nino
Meaning: Derived from the Spanish term which represents “little
boy”
Temperature at Sea Surface: It is warmer than normal sea-surface
temperatures. It is a warming of the Pacific Ocean between South
America and the International Date Line, centered directly on the
Equator, and moves towards several degrees of latitude to either
side of the equator.
Pressure: It is laden with high air surface pressure in the western
Pacific.
Trade winds: It originated when tropical Pacific Ocean trade winds
die out and ocean temperatures become unusually warm.
Seasons: It has great impact on season pattern because it makes
warmer and drier than average in the Northwest of pacific during
winters and wetter in Southwest of pacific and experience reduced
snowfalls.
Coriolis force: It decreases in the strength of the Coriolis force.
Ocean waters in Pacific: Warm water approaches the coasts of
South America which results in reduced upwelling of nutrient-rich
deep water impacting impacts on the fish populations.
Cyclones: Wind speed is low.
Effects: Heavy rains in Ecuador and Peru; Heavy rains in southern
Brazil but drought in north East Brazil; Drought in Zimbabwe,
Mozambique, South Africa, Ethiopia; Warm winter in the northern
half of the United States and southern Canada. Drought, Scant rains
off Asia including India, Indonesia, and Philippines ;Coral bleaching
worldwide; Drought in eastern Australia
La Nina
Meaning: Derived its name from the Spanish term which represents
‘little girl’.
Temperature at Sea Surface: It is cooler than normal sea-surface
temperatures. It originated when cooler than usual ocean
temperatures occur on the equator between South America and
the International Date Line.
Pressure: It contain low air surface pressure in the eastern Pacific
Trade winds: It occurs when the trade winds blow unusually hard and
the sea temperature become colder than normal.
Seasons: Winters are wetter and cause above-average precipitation
across the Northwest of pacific and drier and below average
precipitation in South west of pacific.
Coriolis force: It increases in the strength of the Coriolis force.
Ocean waters in Pacific: Cold water causes increased upwelling of
deep cold ocean waters numbers of drought occurrence, with more
nutrient-filled eastern Pacific waters.
Cyclones: It had a greater tendency to trigger intense tropical
cyclones as wind direction changes pilling up water between Indonesia
and nearby areas as winds from Africa onwards gets blocked.
Effects: Causes drought in Ecuador and Peru. Created low
temperature, high Pressure in Eastern Pacific. Heavy floods in
Australia; High Temperature in Western Pacific, Indian Ocean, Off
coast Somalia and good rains in India.