PHILIPPINES 4TH MOST DISASTER-PRONE COUNTRY IN THE WORLD — UN REPORT

An analysis essay

In everyday life, different disasters–both man-made and natural occur without a warning.
According to Ritchie (2022), Natural disasters claim the lives of 45,000 people worldwide each
year. This amounts to about 0.1% of all fatalities worldwide. Disaster risk refers to the idea that
dangerous events and disasters result from persistently existing risk factors. (Disaster Risk,
n.d.) Different sorts of possible losses, many of which are hard to estimate, are included in
disaster risk. However, disaster risks can be evaluated and visualized, at least in broad strokes,
given information on the existing dangers and patterns of population and socio-economic
development. Both physical and mental implications can result from disasters. Lack of social
support and proximity to the disaster can result in a slower recovery. On the other hand,
implications are less frequent when you are part of a community and feel capable of handling
the aftermath of the disaster.

In 2018, the Philippines is ranked as the third most prone to disasters in the entire world.
This happens due to the fact that the Philippines is located in the Pacific Ring of Fire. Here,
eruptions of volcanic ash and earthquakes are common in its Pacific Ocean basin. The
southwest monsoon and low-pressure area's severe rainfall cause flooding in the area, which
damages many livelihoods. The nation encounters practically all types of natural disasters every
year, including typhoons, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions, along with several complicated
emergencies brought on by armed conflict. (Emergencies, 2019) In 2013, the Philippines
experienced a tremendous disaster, Typhoon Haiyan, also known as ‘Bagyong Yolanda’ to the
locals. The great disasters had taken the lives of more than 6,000 individuals in the province of
Tacloban. (Athawes, 2018) Furthermore, according to Kathryn (2018), Typhoon Haiyan
disrupted 5.9 million employees' livelihoods, destroyed 33 million coconut trees–one of the
significant sources of income in Visayas, and damaged 1.1 million homes. The projected cost of
the harm is $5.8 billion.

All disaster-related efforts undertaken by the Philippines are legally supported by the
National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, also known as NDRRMC. The
Philippines is considered a third-world country or a developing country. In the World Bank, it is
referred to as low- and middle-income groups combined. (Khokhar & Serajuddin, 2015)
According to Carlos (2022), the allotted budget of the Marcos administration to the calamity fund
is only 20 billion Philippine pesos, which is relatively low especially due to the fact that the
country–Philippines is located within the pacific ring of Fire, causing it to be more prone to
different natural disasters. As the information stated Typhoon Haiyan, it has caused over 5.8
billion US dollars or 315,163,300,000 in Philippine pesos. With this information, one can say that
recovering from a great disaster can be hard for the country, as it will need to be budgeted for
an entire year.

The Philippines in today’s time is very vulnerable. As stated it is part of the developing
countries, which entails that they are a less developed country or an emerging market, which
has a GDP that is lower than that of developed countries and an economy that is less
developed and complex. In developing nations, the average income per person is lower, and
people typically have less access to high-quality healthcare and education. Because they begin
from a position of relatively low GDP, developing nations frequently experience faster growth
rates than industrialized nations. Due to the fact that developing countries lack the budget
required, it is dangerous when a disaster comes and these countries are unprepared. With this
in mind, The Philippines must take proper action and intervention for preventing bad outcomes
after a disaster.

The government, experts, and individuals really cannot predict when a disaster, may it
be natural or man-made will come and hit the country. And since there are numerous possible
unfortunate outcomes, it is advisable for a country to come up with a concrete plant that will
surely help each and every individual living in the country. In the Philippines, the government
should be able to set an action plan foreseeing the future. This includes improving allotments of
the national calamity budget. This should also entail improving the healthcare, education, and
economic sector nationwide. This will improve the overall reaction of individuals in a community,
as they will be knowledgeable on what proper steps they should take in case a disaster comes.
Altogether, the Philippines being one of the most vulnerable countries in the world can be solved
only if the higher-ups and the community individuals would help one another.

S. LUI Page 1 of 2
References (APA Citation Style):

Athawes, S. (2018, November 8). Five years on: How Haiyan shocked the world. PreventionWeb.
https://www.preventionweb.net/news/five-years-how-haiyan-shocked-world

Carlos, R. (2022, November 3). P6.8-B calamity fund still available: DBM. Philippine News Agency.
https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1187700

Disaster risk. (n.d.). UNDRR. https://www.undrr.org/terminology/disaster-risk

Emergencies. (2019, August 15). UNFPA Philippines. https://philippines.unfpa.org/en/node/15308

Kathryn, R. (2018, November 9). 2013 Typhoon Haiyan: Facts, FAQs, and how to help. World Vision.
https://www.worldvision.org/disaster-relief-news-stories/2013-typhoon-haiyan-facts

Khokhar, T., & Serajuddin, U. (2015, November 16). Should we continue to use the term “developing world”? World
Bank Blogs. https://blogs.worldbank.org/opendata/should-we-continue-use-term-developing-world

Montenegro, B. (2015, November 25). Philippines 4th most disaster-prone country in the world — UN report. GMA
News Online.
https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/scitech/weather/545760/philippines-4th-most-disaster-prone-country-in-the-
world-un-report/story/

Ritchie, H. (2022, December 7). Natural Disasters. Our World in Data. https://ourworldindata.org/natural-disasters

S. LUI Page 2 of 2