25 Reported Dead as Stormy Weather Hits the Philippines During the Christmas Weekend

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) reported on Wednesday that the number of fatalities caused by shear line-induced rainfall and floods last weekend increased from 13 to 25.

State meteorologists issued a heavy rain warning for the whole Visayas region and the adjacent territories of Luzon and Mindanao on December 24.

A new LPA that entered the Philippine area of responsibility on Tuesday is expected to impact the Visayas, Palawan, and portions of Mindanao, according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration.

Disaster Prone

One of the countries with the highest risk of natural disasters is the Philippines. Its islands often experience floods, typhoons, landslides, earthquakes, volcanoes, and droughts due to their location at the intersection of two main tectonic plates at the heart of a typhoon belt.

Typhoon Belt

The "typhoon belt," a region in the northwestern Pacific Ocean where more than 30% of the world's tropical storms develop, crosses the Philippines. Not only is this region the most active on the planet, but it also experiences the strongest storms.

A typhoon belt refers to a vast area in the western Pacific Ocean that, at 165 million km2, is large enough to include all of the world's continents.

Nearly one-third of the world's tropical cyclones develop in this "belt" in the western Pacific.

Typhoons often travel through the nation from west to north, or more west, as they progress. Long-term climate statistics demonstrate that not only is this region the most active in the globe, but it also experiences the most powerful storms.

The Philippines spans a sizable portion of this "belt." Geographically speaking, the nation may experience 20 typhoons on average per year.

Dealing with Calamities

The Philippines is among the top three nations in the world for population exposure and hazard risk. The Philippine government has developed effective coping methods throughout its extensive history dealing with calamities.

However, there are still large disparities in disaster management capabilities across the many areas of the Philippines, and statistics on local levels of disaster preparation and resilience are surprisingly scarce.