Effects of Tropical Storms (AQA GCSE Geography)

Buildings and bridges are destroyed

People are homeless, causing distress, poverty, ill-health or death due to lack of shelter. Cost of rebuild can be expensive and some people may not have insurance

Roads, railways, ports, and airports are damaged

Blocked or destroyed roads prevent rescue and emergency vehicles, and aid from getting through

Electricity lines are damaged/destroyed

Life support systems, hospitals, shops and homes left without power supplies

Gas lines broken

Risk of fires and explosions

Sewage overflows

Clean water supplies contaminated bringing increased risk of water bore diseases and death

Rivers and coastal areas flooded

People drown or injured through rushing water. Crops, livestock and habitats destroyed, leading to shortage of food and potentially famine

Businesses destroyed

Economic impact to business owners and potential unemployment

Evacuation of people before the tropical storm arrives

Improve long-term forecasting techniques to give people more time to evacuate in the future

Rescue people before the storm cuts people off from flooding and treat injured people

Provide aid, grants or subsidies to residents to repair and strengthen their properties

Recover any dead bodies to reduce and prevents water and air borne diseases

Repair and improve flood defences - flood gates, levees etc. 

Set up temporary shelters for the homeless and post notices where they are being housed for missing family members

Repair homes or rehouse people who have lost their homes or been damaged

Provide temporary supplies of power, food and water and restore communication systems as soon as possible

Repair, replace and improve infrastructure

Overseas aid may be sent in the form of workers, supplies, equipment or financial donations

Improve building regulations so that more buildings withstand the impacts of tropical storms or change planning rules to restrict homes being built in risk areas

Tech companies encouraged to set up disaster response tools to let people confirm their safety, report damaged areas and alert about risk areas 

Encourage economic recovery in the area and encourage people to return with incentives or tax breaks

Lowest pressure

895 mb

Peak strength

Category 5

Strength at landfall

Category 5 with 195 mph winds

Highest sustained wind speed

196 mph

Radius of typhoon strength winds

53 miles

Rainfall

400 mm

Storm surge height

5-6 m

Total economic loss

$13 billion

Homes damaged or destroyed

1.1 million

Displaced people

4 million

Number of deaths

6201

Number of people missing

1785

Number of injured people

28,626

Number of people affected 

16 million

Social

• 6201 people died 

• 1.1 million homes lost

• more than 4 million displaced

• Casualties 28,626 from lack of aid

• 16 million people affected

• UN admitted its response was too slow, amid reports of hunger/thirst among survivors

• UN feared possibility of the spread of disease, lack of food, water, shelter and medication

• Areas less affected; influx of refugees into the area

• Two months later, 21,000 families were still in 380 evacuation centres, waiting to be rehoused by the government in bunkhouses that needed to be built

Economic

• Estimated at $13 billion

• Major sugar/rice producing areas were destroyed

• Between 50,000 and 120,000 tonnes of sugar was lost

• Over 130,000 tonnes of rice were lost

• Government estimated that 175,000 acres of farmland was damaged (worth $85 million)

• The Philippines declared 'a state of national calamity’

• Asked for international help the next day

• President Aquino was under growing pressure to speed up the distribution of food/water/medicine

• Tacloban city was decimated

• Debt is a major obstacle for the Philippines, the country is locked in a debt cycle, with more than 20% of government revenue spent on foreign debt repayments

Environmental

• Loss of forests/trees, and widespread flooding

• Oil and sewage leaks; into local ecosystems

• Lack of sanitation in days following lead to a higher level of pollution

• Coconut plantations were said to be 'completely flattened' (coconut equated to nearly half of the Philippines agricultural exports / is the world's biggest producer of coconut oil

• Fishing communities were severely affected

• An estimated 90 per cent of the rural population in typhoon-affected areas are small-scale farmers

• With 33 million coconut trees felled, international help has been sought to mill the 15 million tons of timber,
  lying rotting on the ground, attracting pests that threatened healthy trees

• Without a crop, families would not have cash to enable local markets to function

The Philippines declared 'a state of national calamity’, asked for international the next day

The UN donated financial aid, supplies and medical support

International aid agencies responded quickly with food, water and temporary shelters

5 days went by before any aid was received and only 20% of victims received aid

The Philippines Red Cross delivered basic food aid e.g. rice & canned food

UN admitted its response was too slow

UK sent shelter kits to provide emergency shelter for a family

Rebuilding of the airport, ports, roads and bridges

Over 1200 evacuation centres set up for the homeless 

'Cash for Work' schemes gave locals money to help clear the debris

The French, Belgian and Israeli's set up field hospitals to help the injured

Oxfam helped finance replacement of the fishing boats

$475 million sent as aid and US sent 13,000 soldiers

Increased number of cyclone shelters have been built further away from coastal areas