Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) in 2013 and Typhoon

Pablo (Bopha) in 2012 appear in all 3 categories – worst in

terms of number of casualties, amount of damage and
number of people affected.
Wednesday morning, July 27, a magnitude 7 earthquake struck Abra
province, with tremors felt across the country’s capital and Northern Luzon.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) initially
measured this tectonic quake at magnitude 7.3, but later lowered it to 7. This
marks the strongest earthquake to hit the island of Luzon since 1990, when
a magnitude 7.7 temblor struck. Since 1970, 11 other earthquakes of
magnitude 6.5 or stronger have been recorded within 250 kilometers of this
July 27 quake, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).
Historically, quakes of this magnitude have caused catastrophic destruction
and have resulted in thousands of deaths.
Bohol Earthquake: One year on 12 July 2017 On this day last year, 15 October
2013, a powerful earthquake measuring 7.2 on the Richter Scale shook the
Philippines. The epicentre was located in the island province of Bohol in Central
Visayas but was felt as far as Southern Mindanao. Less than a month later,
Typhoon Haiyan (known locally as Yolanda) swept through central Visayas.
Although it did not cause significant damage on the island of Bohol, it had a
strong impact on the emergency response. Many government and international
humanitarian resources were moved from Bohol to address the health needs
caused by Haiyan which in turn delayed the speed of the recovery in Bohol.
The earthquake affected over 1.2 million people, 222 people died (195 in
Bohol), 976 were injured and eight people missing. Over 79,000 structures
including homes, roads, churches, schools and public buildings were damaged,
of which 14,500 were totally destroyed, resulting in over 340,000 displaced
people.
The health sector suffered a major blow. The earthquake left at least
25 totally and 111 partially destroyed health facilities. This resulted in
major disruptions in the delivery of health services, provision of
essential medicines and the destruction of the cold chain system which
is essential in the transport and storage of vaccines.

The immediate health priority was to restore services for the affected
communities. As co-leads for the health cluster, the Philippine
Department of Health and WHO Philippines coordinated the response
of international and national organizations who came to the aid of those
in need. Using money provided by the UN Central Emergency
Response Fund (CERF), WHO deployed staff and resources to assess
the damage on the health system, and to determine the nature and level
of assistance needed. WHO provided equipment, manpower, training,
supplies, and medicines, as well as much needed all weather tents to
serve as temporary patient consultation areas and birthing centers.
Setting up birthing centers was an urgent need as close to 8,000 births
were expected throughout the province in the several weeks following
the earthquake.
Infrastructure that was not completely destroyed could be
repaired by WHO and other partners through minor
repairs such as replacing missing doors and windows, or
repairing damaged roofs. The temporary health facilities
set up by WHO included 25 tents for use as community
(“barangay”) health stations, and 14 tents for use as rural
health units. These tents had sealed-in walls and flooring,
thereby making them weather-proof, especially when
protected with a secondary roof covering.
Wildfire—which for most of this century has each year scorched, seared, or
incinerated an average of 4.23 million square kilometres of woodland or
savannah — is likely to become even more of a hazard, new research
concludes.Feb 17, 2022 Is the Amazon still burning? Sadly, it is increasingly
likely that fires are burning in the Amazon at any time of the year, even
outside of the dry season. To stay up to date with recent data on
deforestation and fires, make sure that you follow Greenpeace Brazil.Sep 5,
2022With the current rate of deforestation, the world's rainforests will be
gone by 2100.
 For the most part, air pollution in the Philippines stems from the
burning of fossil fuels like coal and oil. Considering that 53% of
the population is without access to clean fuels and technology for
cooking, this is bound to further exacerbate air quality in the long
run.Nov 9, 2022

The population of Manila has grown at an alarming rate since 1970, faster than any
other city. It is estimated that the density of people is roughly 12,600 per square
kilometre. Thousands live in poor quality housing in the shadow of industrial plants
or power stations. Smog is almost constantly hanging over the city, exacerbated by
the 2.2 million vehicles that clog the streets on a daily basis. According to reports
published by the World Health Organisation (WHO), levels of airborne particles of
lead (Pb) are three times than the acceptable figure. Concentrations of PM2.5 have
also found to be unacceptably high, too. Before the COVID 19 pandemic, there were
some rainy days in Manila when a thick haze would envelop the city totally obscuring
the city skyline. Because this was so commonplace, many Philippines accepted it as
the norm. At the start of lockdown, due to the reduction in traffic and industries
working, the air quality began to improve due to the lack of emissions.