Building Climate Resiliency in the Philippines: A Bottom-Up Approach to Implementing Disaster Risk Reduction Strategies Through Analysis of the Impacts of Super Typhoon Yolanda in 2013

Abstract

Super Typhoon Yolanda (international name: Haiyan), which pummeled the Philippines on Nov. 8, 2013, showed the full destructive force of a climatic event. Yolanda decimated the coastal communities that lay directly in its path, leaving a trail of death and destruction that compounded poverty in the countryside. This research is a case study of Yolanda and its impacts in the Philippines, focusing on how climatic events can lead to a crisis situation in hazard-prone societies because of policy implementation gaps and lack of ample preparedness. The study shows that climate change has already triggered adverse climatic events such as Yolanda, placing coastal communities at higher risk of the storm’s inundation, destruction, and even societal paralysis. This research undertook a review of the climate policy in the Philippines and its resultant implementation. It also compared and contrasted the level of resiliency of Tacloban City and the Municipality of San Francisco, two coastal communities that bore the brunt of Yolanda, using morbidity and shelter as indicators. Results showed that the impetus for a holistic national strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) through a grassroots’ approach is crucial for building resiliency in the Philippines. Since households are at the forefront of mitigating the impacts of natural hazards, the country’s first line of defense is the robust engagement of the households comprising local communities in implementing DRR programs and strategies. With the government providing the correct policy framework and adequate support system for mitigating risks, local communities will be placed in a much better position to respond and adapt to the impacts of climate change.