ReliefWeb

HIGHLIGHTS

• Prolonged dry spells and stronger storms are expected to impact the Philippines this year, as the country braces for the El Niño phenomenon.

• Humanitarian partners revise the Zamboanga Action Plan; US$12.9 million needed to assist over 64,000 displaced people.

• Environmental concerns have led to the closure of a Tacloban city waste site that received over half a million cubic metres of Typhoon Haiyan debris.

FUNDING

Typhoon Haiyan 788 million requested (US$)

56% funded

Zamboanga Action Plan (revised)

12.8 million requested (US$)

43 % funded

Source: Financial Tracking Service

Philippines braces for El Niño phenomenon

Drier conditions and decreased rainfall expected; tropical cyclones projected to affect the north with increased intensity

Prolonged dry spells and stronger storms are expected to impact the Philippines this year, as the country braces for what could be its worst El Niño in 17 years. The Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) has warned not only of drier conditions and decreased rainfall, but also of stronger tropical cyclones once the rainy season begins in June, with the peak of El Niño’s impact expected in the last quarter of 2014 or even early into 2015.

Typically, the El Niño phenomenon causes the behaviour of tropical cyclones to become erratic, affecting their path and intensity. According to PAGASA, the paths tropical cyclones follow this year could shift to the northern part of Luzon Region. El Niño could also affect average rainfall patterns, resulting in reduced rainfall across the country.

PAGASA is urging local government authorities, especially those in Luzon, to prioritize mitigation and preparedness measures for this year’s El Niño. The Philippines averages 20 cyclones annually.
In 1998, an El Niño affected nearly 74,000 hectares of agricultural lands in 18 provinces in the Philippines. According to the Department of Agriculture, the country’s rice and corn production during the first half of 1998 were reduced by 27 and 44 per cent respectively.

The province of Negros Occidental in the Central Visayas Region was declared under a state of calamity because of a prolonged drought that affected more than 900,000 people.
In Mindanao, 74 people died and more than 450,000 agricultural families faced severe food insecurity because of the drought caused by El Niño.