Major natural and man-made disasters cost the Philippines half a trillion pesos in the past 10 years, according to data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
Based on the Compendium of Philippine Environment Statistics Component 4 on Extreme Events and Disasters, PSA data showed these disasters cost the country P500.73 billion between 2012 and 2022.
Number of Occurrences of Natural Extreme Events and Disasters,
2012 to 2022
Of this amount, P497.457 billion was accounted for by major natural extreme events and disasters, while P3.269 billion was due to major man-made disasters.
The data showed 2013—memorable because of Supertyphoon Yolanda, the Visayas quake and the Zamboanga siege—was the most expensive year, accounting for a fifth of the total cost of the natural and man-made disasters of the past decade.
The total bill for 2013 was P107.83 billion. Of this, P104.57 billion was due to the natural disasters and the remaining P3.26 billion was caused by the Zamboanga siege of September 9, 2013.
The list of natural disasters in 2013 included the Bohol earthquake which cost the country P2.257 billion and Yolanda (international name Haiyan), which cost damage of P95.48 billion.
Typhoon Yolanda was the most expensive natural disaster of the past 10 years followed by Typhoon Odette in 2021, which cost P47.574 billion; Typhoon Ompong in 2018, at P43.188 billion; and Typhoon Pablo in 2013, at P43.16 billion.
Number of Damaged Houses Due to Natural Extreme Events and Disasters, 2012 to 2022 (in Thousands)
Meanwhile, PSA data also showed the impact of these disasters was not only economic; they brought death and injuries to Filipinos. Thousands of Filipinos also remain missing because of these tragedies.
Based on the data, natural and man-made disasters were responsible for the death of 11,444 Filipinos and injuries to 196,396 people. A total of 2,687 Filipinos also went missing between 2012 and 2022 because of these events.
In terms of deaths, Typhoon Yolanda was the most deadly and claimed 6,300 lives while the disaster that caused the most injuries was the Dengue outbreak in 2019, which inflicted injury on 130,011 Filipinos.
For those missing, Typhoon Yolanda again topped the list, with 1,061 Filipinos listed missing in the wake of its destruction.
The CPES follows the United Nations Framework for the Development of Environment Statistics (FDES) 2013. Among the 31 statistics identified in the FDES, a total of 17 statistics were compiled for Component 4 for this edition of the Compendium.
In addition, statistics under the Component 4: Extreme Events and Disasters are linked to several statistics and indicators in the Sustainable Development Goals, Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, and the Global Set of Climate Change Statistics and Indicators, particularly the thematic area on Impacts.
Source: Business Mirror and PSA
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