Tropical Storm “URING” (Thelma)

November 2-7, 1991

95 kph
5,101 deaths (unofficial estimate up to 8,000 +)
P 1.045 B damage

Track: Maydolong, Eastern Samar; Tacloban City and Ormoc City, Leyte; Northern Cebu, Northern Negros Occidental
specifically Escalante, Murcia, Bacolod City, Bago City and Pulupandan; Southern tip of Guimaras; just south of Cuyo Is.; Roxas in
Northern Palawan.

URING was a weak tropical storm that moved quickly through Samar, Leyte, Cebu and Negros. But because of the heavy
precipitation, rivers swelled and landslides came down in a deluge in the mid-morning of November 5 at the upper areas of Ormoc
City in Leyte. The river bisecting the city burst its banks and overflowed, drowning the whole city in more than 10 feet of water laden
with mud and debris. Thousands were caught flatfooted and perished. The storm then moved over Northern Cebu flooding more towns
and cities.

When URING arrived at Northern Negros by early afternoon, it dumped heavy rain flooding Northern Negros, wiping out houses
from their foundations along rivers in Bacolod City and Victorias while leaving others marooned in the fast rising waters of the rivers.
A section of a historic bridge across Bago River was swept by raging torrents. Late that night URING unleashed landslides in the
mountainous southern town of San Joaquin in Iloilo Province and as far as Calinog in Central Iloilo where large rivers destroyed
bridges spanning across them, cutting off some towns from their neighbors for a few days. Almost lunchtime of November 6, the
storm crossed Northern Palawan through Roxas. The storm further weakened as it exited to the South China Sea at early evening.

Ormoc City and Northern Negros Occidental were scenes of devastation as the floods receded. Almost a quarter of Ormoc's
population drowned and their bloated bodies were littered everywhere in the city while other fatalities were numerously floating at
Ormoc Bay and Camotes Sea being feasted by sharks and other fishes. Many journalists and eyewitnesses described Ormoc City as…

“…a scene from the Holocaust where dead bodies were stacked upon each other like logs or garbage”.

Even those watching from television footages could not help but gag, retch, get misty-eyed or even weep quietly for everything
was…" truly sickening with the stench of death everywhere.”

Due to the overwhelming number of dead bodies everywhere, there was a shortage of coffins, so authorities opted to collect
the dead through dump trucks and buried in mass graves. It was considered the deadliest natural disaster of the country.

Fig. 1. Track of URING. Fig. 2. Scanned Satellite Photo of URING

Super Typhoon “Ruping” (Mike)
November 10-14, 1990
220 kph
748 deaths
P 10.846 B damage

Track: Dinagat Island; Southern Leyte; Mactan Island, Cebu City and the rest of Central Cebu Island; San Carlos
City, D.S. Benedicto, Murcia and Bacolod City in Negros Occidental; Northern Guimaras; Iloilo City and the
Southwestern Iloilo Prov.; Hamtic and San Jose de Buenavista, Antique; Northern part of Cuyo Islands; Linapacan Strait,
Northern Palawan.

RUPING was the country's most devastating typhoons inflicting more damage than any other typhoon had done since
1947 (see figures 9 & 10).

It was a large and powerful howler as it approached Surigao del Norte in the early afternoon of November 12. Heavy
damage was already inflicted in Surigao before RUPING made landfall at Dinagat Island at midnight and headed for
Southern Leyte by early morning of November 13 devastating Maasin and its neighbors. By late in the afternoon of that
day RUPING went off at the sea and maintained its strength as it moved towards Mactan-Cebu area.

The howler rampaged Mactan Island destroying and almost leveling all houses in the small municipality-island of
Cordova nearby, smashing and sinking ships in the harbor, and then to the heart of Cebu City by the early evening until
early dawn of the next day leaving the metropolitan helpless without electricity and drinking water amidst the terrible
debris everywhere. Thousands of houses in the rural areas of the province were leveled and destroyed by its ferocious
winds. The passage of the eye in Cebu during dusk until late evening of Nov. 12 was quite unnoticed for everybody was
still recuperating form the passage of the eyewall of the leading side. It was silent for an hour so others thought that the
typhoon was over. Cebuanos started to pick up the pieces and debris while some tucked them to sleep, only to be ravaged
again by the other side of the eyewall around late evening until dawn.

The typhoon maintained its strength as it greeted the early morning of Bacolod City and the rest of Negros with a
tempest never seen since 1951 flattening sugarcane fields and snapping electric posts to splinters. The eye was calm and
sunny with birds flying around when it came over, but not far away, a wall of dark clouds could be seen coupled by
continuous howling of the winds. By midday, it struck Iloilo City, bearing more devastation to houses and buildings, and
then towards Antique shortly after lunch spawning raging floods in the province's major rivers. By the early evening of
November 13, it was at the vicinity of Linapacan Strait, Palawan flattening more houses before exiting to South China
Sea. Despite its intensity, deaths were lesser than expected due to preparations beforehand but it was too catastrophic that
the whole Mindanao, Visayas, Central Luzon, NCR, Bicol and Southern Tagalog Regions sustained heavy damage and
were considered calamity areas. RUPING affected 1,010,004 families or total affected persons of 5,498,290.

The large eye of typhoon RUPING was also fully appreciated by more than a million people of the affected
population after passing directly over large and densely populated cities of Lapu-Lapu, Mandaue, Cebu, Bacolod and
Iloilo.

Fig. 9. Track of RUPING

 #AGOS

Looking back: the records of Ondoy

Five years after Ondoy hit the country, its record remains unmatched by other disasters that followed

Tropical Storm Ondoy has affected about 4.9 million people in the Philippines

MANILA, Philippines – Five years ago on September 26, Tropical Storm Ondoy (international name: Ketsana) ravaged Luzon,
submerging areas like Metro Manila in floods at record-breaking levels.

Ondoy, then combined with the enhanced southwest monsoon, caused damages to infrastructure and agriculture at a cost of P11
billion ($246 million*).

It's been 5 years since Ondoy hit the country, yet it will always be remembered because of its impact. It is even often compared to
other typhoons that have followed, yet most have failed to match Ondoy's record.

Here are just 5 of the biggest effects of Ondoy to the country.

1. Ondoy is one of the worst natural disasters to hit the country in terms of number of people affected.

With combined heavy rains and strong winds, Ondoy affected 993,227 families or 4,901,234 people, making it fourth in the list
of worst natural disasters in the Philippines in terms of number of people affected.

From the total of affected population, 464 were killed, 529 injured, and 37 were missing.

Furthermore, a total of 15,798 families or 70,124 people took shelter in 244 evacuation centers.

2. Metro Manila and about 30% of all provinces in the Philippines were placed under a state of calamity.

In just 6 hours, Ondoy released rainfall equivalent to a month’s volume of rain with a rate of 56.83 mm/hr based on its 24-hour
recorded rainfall. Twenty-three provinces and Metro Manila were placed under a state of calamity due to the widespread
devastation by Ondoy.

Then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo declared a state of national calamity via Proclamation No.1898 on October 2, 2009, to also
prepare the country for Typhoon Pepeng (international name: Parma)

TIMELINE: Looking back at 2012's Typhoon Pablo (Bopha)

Let's look back at what happened when Typhoon Pablo (Bopha) hit the country in 2012, and review disaster preparation, response,
and recovery back then

MNILA, Philippines – If this year had Typhoon Yolanda as its strongest cyclone, Typhoon Pablo is considered the worst storm of 2012.

Typhoon Pablo (Bopha) made landfall in Mindanao on Dec 4, 2012, and is considered one of the worst typhoons to hit the island.
Mostly affected were the provinces of Davao Oriental and Compostela Valley, where the strong typhoon caused massive flooding
and landslides that killed many.

It could have been the most destructive typhoon to hit the country recently – that is, until Yolanda came.

Let's look back at what happened when Typhoon Pablo hit the country in 2012, and review disaster preparation, response, and
recovery back then.

Property damage caused by Pablo hits P37B

192SHARES10
The amount of property damaged by typhoon “Pablo” has risen to almost P37 billion, exceeding those of strong weather
disturbances that ravaged the country recently.

Pablo has destroyed P36.95 billion worth of infrastructure, agricultural products and private properties as of Tuesday, the National
Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said.

The agriculture sector was the hardest hit with P26.53 billion worth of damage. The amount of damage in infrastructure and private
properties totaled P7.57 billion and P2.86 billion, respectively.

The total cost of damage rose by P2 billion from last Monday after the NDRRMC had received updated reports from disaster
management officers in Davao. These reports contained additional data about affected private properties and health facilities.

Sendong' world's deadliest storm for 2011

Deaths reach 957, hundreds still missing

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATE) - Tropical storm "Sendong" (international name Washi) is the world's deadliest
storm this year, latest data shows.

The storm, which struck Northern Mindanao, the Visayas, and Palawan over the weekend, has now killed at least
957 people, the country's disaster management chief said Tuesday morning.

National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) Director Benito Ramos also said they have
lost count of the number of people who have gone missing following the flashfloods spawned by the storm.

American meteorologist Dr. Jeff Masters, citing data from insurance broker AON Benfield, said 902 people died
during a storm in Brazil in January. Meanwhile, 657 people died during the massive floods in Thailand from June to
November.

Masters, who explained how the tragedy happened, said Sendong carried an unusual amount of rainwater, which
came from a large stream of tropical moisture over the Pacific Ocean.

"Aiding the heavy rains were sea surface temperatures that were nearly 1 degree Celcius above average off the east
coast of Mindanao, one of the top five warmest values on record," he said in a Weather Underground report.

A US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) report December 15, a day before the storm struck,
said Sendong was carrying as much as 50 millimeters of rainwater, which is almost the same amount that storm
Ondoy was bringing in 2009.

"Washi hit a portion of the Philippines that does not see tropical storms and typhoons very often. Mindanao is thus
hit only about once every twelve years by a significant tropical storm or typhoon," Masters added.
"Since the rains fell on regions where the natural forest had been illegally logged or converted to pineapple
plantations, the heavy rains were able to run off quickly on the relatively barren soils and create devastating flash
floods. Since the storm hit in the middle of the night, and affected an unprepared population that had no flood
warning system in place, the death toll was tragically high," he said.

National government not to blame?

Ramos, meanwhile, told ANC Primetime that the national government should not be blamed for the disaster.

"Hindi naman nagkulang government sa preparasyon. Unang-una, abiso sa kanila [affected communities] signal
number 2, Northern Mindanao kasama Central Visayas," he said. "Tama [state weather bureau] PAGASA. They
were forewarned. Ang mga kababayan alam ang landslide-prone area at flood-prone area. Nangyari ito sa riverbank,"
he said.

"We expect to rise because there are casualties in Negros, Sibula, tsaka Zamboangita," Ramos said.

Ramos said people struck by the disaster were not used to heavy rains similar to "Sendong."

"Experience natin dito, hindi kasi ito dating dinadaan ng bagyo itong Cagayan de Oro, Iligan, Misamis provinces
hanggang Zamboanga del Norte," he said. "Hindi ito dinadaan kay experience nila kung mahagip sila, ma-sidesweep
lang, 3 millimeters per hour lang ulan. Eh... Umabot 181mm."

Ramos told ANC's The World Tonight that coffins and cadaver bags in disaster-stricken areas in the south are now
running out.

He believes that local governments should be responsible for the tragedy.

"With due respect sa mga local na pamahalaan, mukhang may pagkukulang pa rin (sila) sa response," he said.

More bodies being found

More bodies are still being retrieved in Cagayan de Oro City and Iligan, even as coffins and cadaver bags are
running out

Cagayan de Oro Mayor Vicente Emano tols ABS-CBN News' Karen Davila on Monday that they have put some
dead bodies in an open dumping ground for now. He said the stench from the cadavers "has become unbearable."

Emano said they have just retrieved 17 dead bodies from Jasaan, with at least 40 more bodies still floating in
floodwaters.

In Iligan City, the large number of dead bodies has overwhelmed morgues and funeral parlors.

Many of the victims remain unidentified.

Over 100 bodies were brought to one funeral home, but because of the overwhelming number of cadavers, some
bodies had to be placed beside the building.

The growing number of cadavers in the city has left a foul stench, as well as sought for an immediate need for
formalin.

Some evacuation centers have been converted into venues for wakes.

About 47,000 people have also sought shelter in temporary evacuation sites, where food and water are running out.
Hundreds still missing in Iligan

The death toll from "Sendong" may still rise in Iligan because hundreds of people are still missing.

The Philippine National Police is still conducting rescue and retrieval operations to look for survivors.

Chief Supt. Dominador Aquino, police deputy director for eastern Mindanao, said they are not losing hope of finding
survivors.

The local government has dug up a mass grave in Pala-o to temporarily dispose of unidentified remains.

Iligan City Mayor Lawrence Cruz said the shallow graves will help victims' relatives to identify bodies.

Forensic experts from the National Bureau of Investigation have arrived in Iligan to help identify the cadavers. -
with reports from Karen Davila and Jeff Canoy, ABS-CBN News; ANC

2013 Typhoon Haiyan: (YOLANDA)Facts, FAQs, and how to

help
Typhoon Haiyan made landfall in the Philippines on November 8, 2013, as a Category 5 storm. It laid waste to the
Visayas group of islands, the country’s central region and home to 17 million people. Haiyan was the most powerful
storm in 2013 and one of the most powerful typhoons of all time.

With wind speeds sustained at more than 150 mph, Haiyan was classified as a super typhoon. However, its massive
storm surge was even more destructive. Local officials estimated that Tacloban City on the island of Leyte was 90
percent destroyed.

The typhoon’s fury affected more than 14 million people across 44 provinces, displacing 4.1 million people, killing
more than 6,000 people, and leaving 1,800 missing. In addition, 1.1 million houses were either partially or totally
damaged, 33 million coconut trees (a major source of livelihoods) were destroyed, and the livelihoods of 5.9 million
workers were disrupted.

Typhoon Haiyan timeline

While typhoons can occur at any time of the year, the peak occurrence is in late August and early September.
Typhoon Haiyan was the 13th named storm of 2013 in the Northwest Pacific Basin.

 Nov. 2: The storm is detected as a low-pressure area in Micronesia.

 Nov. 4: The system is upgraded to a tropical storm and named Haiyan.
 Nov. 6: The storm hits Palau and parts of Micronesia. After growing in intensity for days, Typhoon Haiyan
became a Category 5 storm, with wind speeds above 157 mph.
 Nov. 7: Haiyan enters the Philippines area; alerts, preparations, and evacuations intensify.
 Nov. 8: At 4:40 a.m., Haiyan makes landfall in Eastern Samar at peak capacity. It continues to spread
destruction through the Visayas, the Philippines’ central island group.
 Nov. 9: The storm moves out into the South China Sea, heading toward Vietnam.
 Nov. 10: Haiyan makes landfall in northeast Vietnam, much diminished, then disintegrates into bands of rain
over Guanxi, China.

Fast facts: Typhoon Haiyan

 One of the most powerful storms ever tracked, Typhoon Haiyan was a “super typhoon” with sustained winds
of over 150 mph.
  Leyte Island was buffeted by sustained winds of 195 mph and gusts up to 235 mph.
 Not only was the storm powerful, but it also occurred after the official typhoon season’s November 1 ending.
 More than 14 million people were affected by the Haiyan.
 Typhoon Haiyan was called Super Typhoon Yolanda in the Philippines; it was given that name by the
country’s atmospheric sciences agency.

What is a typhoon?
A typhoon is the same thing as a hurricane and a cyclone — the difference is in the location. Hurricanes occur in the
Atlantic and Northeast Pacific. Typhoons, like Haiyan, are found in the Northwest Pacific Ocean. In the South Pacific
and the Indian Ocean, the same type of storm is called a cyclone. But scientifically, they are all known as tropical
cyclones.

When there’s a bit of weather disturbance, a warm tropical ocean, moisture, and a light wind — conditions may be
right to produce a cyclone. By whatever name, these storms can produce violent winds and waves, torrential rains,
and flooding.

Why was Typhoon Haiyan a super typhoon?

Haiyan was called a super typhoon for part of its life because of it sustained winds of more than 150 mph. Wind
speed, however, is not the only factor that determines the destructiveness of storms. Don’t forget about other
associated hazards like storm surge, tornadoes, and flooding.

Is the Philippines a disaster-prone country?

The Philippines is one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world. The U.N.’s 2017 World Risk Index places
the Philippines as the third most at risk of natural disasters among the 171 countries ranked. Vanuatu and Tonga
ranked first and second.

Not only is the Philippines at risk for disastrous weather events, but it is also in a hot zone for earthquakes and
tsunamis. In fact, only three weeks before Typhoon Haiyan, Bohol island was hit by a 7.2 magnitude earthquake that
affected 3 million people in Bohol and Cebu, killing more than 200 people. Many families were still receiving aid and
living in evacuation shelters when a second catastrophe hit them — Typhoon Haiyan.

How can I help children and families in the Philippines?

Pray for children and families affected by poverty and recurring disasters in the Philippines and other countries in
the Asia Pacific region.

Sponsor a child in the Philippines. When you sponsor a child, you will help change a child’s life story and the life of
their family and community. You’ll provide access to life-saving basics like nutritious food, healthcare, clean water,
education, and more.
BACK TO QUESTIONS

World Vision’s response to Typhoon Haiyan

World Vision has worked in the Philippines since 1954, caring for children and building sustainable communities.

Typhoon Haiyan devastated 20 development project areas where World Vision works, including in Bohol province,
which had been badly damaged by an earlier earthquake.
When Typhoon Haiyan hit, our staff were ready to respond. Even as they began to provide emergency relief, a top
priority was to reach out to all of the nearly 40,000 children registered in World Vision’ sponsorship program. More
than 5,600 children in Leyte and Antique provinces were sponsored by U.S. donors.

“World Vision staff came to our place to check on us. We were asked about what we went through and how we felt,”
says Kim, a sponsored child who lives on Panay island. “I felt good after crying my fear out to the staff. She was the
first to hear my story because I didn’t want my parents to worry about me.”

The Typhoon Haiyan response covered four areas — North Cebu, Panay, West Leyte, and East Leyte — serving
566 villages in 48 municipalities that were among the hardest hit by Typhoon Haiyan. More than 1.6 million people
benefited from World Vision’s work over the three years of the Typhoon Haiyan response.

World Vision responded to Typhoon Haiyan in three phases:

Emergency relief phase: November 2013 to February 2014

 789,816 people served

 Relief work included providing emergency shelter, household goods, food, water and sanitation, education
support, health, cash for work and livelihoods support, and child protection

Recovery phase: March 2014 to December 2014

 321,403 people served

 Recovery work included providing shelter, water and sanitation, health, livelihoods and cash-based
programming, anti-trafficking programs, disaster risk reduction, and repair and replacement of vital
infrastructure

Rehabilitation phase: January 2015 to December 2016

 84,727 people served

 Rehabilitation work included providing shelter, water and sanitation, infrastructure, disaster risk reduction,
and livelihoods and cash-based programming