Kenneth Myro D. Garcia, RN, MAN, Ed.D.

Earthquake Risk
• Since 1968, PHIVOLCS has recorded twelve
destructive earthquakes in the Philippines. This
record includes the infamous July 16,1990 Luzon
earthquake which caused innumerable injuries and
at least 1,100 deaths.
• Seismicity (geographic and historical distribution of
earthquake events) is all over the country except in
the Palawan region.
 Earthquake Risk

• La Union and Pangasinan are prone to

earthquakes, especially the deep-focused ones,
due to the Manila Trench while Surigao del Sur
and Davao Oriental have earthquake hazards
due to Philippine Trench and nearby active faults.
Earthquake Risk
• Frequency of shallow and left-lateral strike-
slip earthquakes in Nueva Vizcaya, Nueva
Ecija, Eastern Pangasinan, Benguet and La
Union can be attributed to its location along
the Philippine Fault Zone.
• However, Ifugao, despite having less
earthquake occurrences is at risk because of
its very high vulnerability to disasters.
 The Top 10 provinces at risk for
earthquakes:

♣ Surigao del Sur ♣ Tarlac

♣ La Union ♣ Ifugao
♣ Benguet ♣ Davao Oriental
♣ Pangasinan ♣ Nueva Vizcaya
♣ Pampanga ♣ Nueva Ecija
 Landslides Risk:

• Most of the provinces, except Palawan, are

susceptible to landslide hazards.

• Ifugao, Lanao del Sur and Sarangani ranked

high because of their high vulnerability to
disasters while Rizal ranked the lowest.
• Benguet, despite its low vulnerability,
ranked four because of its high
exposure factor or population density.
Aurora ranked higher than Davao del
Sur and Davao Oriental despite its low
vulnerability compared with the other
two provinces. This is due to the fact
that the whole of Aurora is more
susceptible to landslide than the
other two provinces.
 The Top 10 provinces at risk for
shallow landslides:

♣ Ifugao ♣ Bukidnon
♣ Lanao del Sur ♣ Aurora
♣ Sarangani ♣ Davao del Sur
♣ Benguet ♣ Davao Oriental
♣ Mt. Province ♣ Rizal
 Volcanic Eruptions Risk
• Philippines lies within the Ring of Fire, a region of
subduction zone volcanism surrounding the Pacific
Ocean.
• This explains the distribution of most volcanoes in
the Philippines. In 1991, Mt. Pinatubo eruption was
well known to be the most violent eruption in the
20th century.
• Philippine Volcanoes are classified as Active,
Inactive and Potentially active. Twenty-two (22)
historically active volcanoes are distributed all over
the archipelago.
Volcanic Eruptions Risk
• Camiguin has the highest risk because
the land area is so small such that a
volcanic eruption can affect the whole
province.
• Sulu ranked second because it has the
most number of active and potentially
active volcanoes.
 The Top 10 provinces at risk for
volcanic eruptions:

♣ Camiguin ♣ Sorsogon
♣ Sulu ♣ South Cotabato
♣ Biliran ♣ Laguna
♣ Albay ♣ Camarines Sur
♣ Bataan ♣ Batanes
Tsunami Risk

• In November 14,1994, a 7.1 magnitude

earthquake in Mindoro triggered a tsunami that
left at least 41 persons dead, mostly children
and old people.

• Most of the coastal areas have experienced a

tsunami or have a tsunami hazard potential
 The Top 10 provinces at risk for
tsunamis:

♣ Sulu ♣ Romblon
♣ Tawi-tawi ♣ Siquijor
♣ Basilan ♣ Surigao del Norte

♣ Batanes ♣ Camiguin

♣ Guimaras ♣ Masbate
 Typhoon Risk
• Northern Luzon, Southeastern Luzon
and Eastern Visayas are the areas
highly at risk to the occurrence of
tropical depressions, tropical storms,
typhoons and super typhoons.
 The Top 20 provinces at risk for
typhoons:

♣ Cagayan ♣ Ilocos Sur

♣ Albay ♣ Ilocos Norte
♣ Ifugao ♣ Camarines Norte

♣ Sorsogon ♣ Mt. Province

♣ Kalinga ♣ Camarines Sur

 The Top 20 provinces at risk for
typhoons:

♣ Northern Samar ♣ Nueva Ecija

♣ Catanduanes ♣ Pangasinan
♣ Apayao ♣ Masbate

♣ Pampanga ♣ Tarlac
♣ La Union ♣ Western Samar
 El Niño Risk
• Areas highly at risk to El Niño-
induced drought are Central and
West Mindanao.
 The Top 20 provinces at risk for El
Niño:

♣ Sulu ♣ Davao del Sur

♣ Basilan ♣ Misamis Occidental

♣ Maguindanao ♣ Sarangani

♣ Lanao del Sur ♣ Zamboanga del Sur

♣ Lanao del Norte ♣ South Cotabato

 The Top 20 provinces at risk for El
Niño:

♣ Zamboanga del Norte ♣ Negros Oriental

♣ North Cotabato ♣ Camiguin
♣ Sultan Kudarat ♣ Davao del Norte

♣ Siquijor ♣ Misamis Oriental

♣ Tawi-Tawi ♣ Bukidnon
♥ Asia has experienced the highest
magnitude of impacts from these weather-
related disasters, with 332,000 deaths and
3.7 billion more people affected
♥ In terms of the ten countries with the
highest absolute number of people affected
by them, seven come from Asia in this order
from highest to lowest: China, India,
Bangladesh, Philippines, Thailand, Pakistan
and Vietnam.
♥ Highest number of disasters experienced
within the last 20 years: four are from the
Asian region: China (441), India (288),
Philippines (274), and Indonesia, (163).
♥ In 2015 alone, the Asia-Pacific region has
experienced over half of the world’s 344
disasters
The Philippines
- tropical country
- 7,107 islands lying in the
Pacific Ocean off the coast
of Southeast Asia
- 2,000 are inhabited
- 100M+ population
Background:
The Philippines is considered as one of the most
vulnerable countries in the world
• the country lies between 2 of the world’s major tectonic
plates
1. Pacific
2. Eurasian
resulting to:
- an average of 16 perceptible earthquakes in a year
- an average of 3 – 5 non perceptible to perceptible
earthquakes in a day
• 200 volcanoes, 22 are considered active and
destructive and out of this, 5 are closely being monitored
• country lies along the typhoon belt – average of 20
typhoons/year
 • ACTIVITY
• Make a comparison of both
provinces that you have previously
written. Note any similarities and
differences. What are some of your
realizations based on these?