MALOLOS CITY— Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga and Tarlac have made it to the list of 23 provinces in the country considered to be a high risk to disasters that are “climate and weather hazard related.”
Aside from the 23, 16 provinces in the country are among the 50 most vulnerable regions in Southeast Asia, a World Bank report said.
Based on the 279-page technical report entitled “Getting a grip on climate change in the Philippines,” the World Bank said absence of land barriers exposes the country to multiple climate hazards such as typhoons, floods, landslides and droughts.
This makes the Philippines more vulnerable to climate risks than its ASEAN neighbors.
The report said that the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (NDRRMCC) has classified the provinces based on their vulnerability to different hazards, namely, temperature change, rainfall change, El Nino events, typhoons and flooding.
The said risk categories have sub-categories ranging from “high risk” to “very high risk” provinces.
For temperature change, the provinces of Sulu, Basilan, Lanao Del S ur and Maguindanao were categorized under very high risk; while the provinces of Lanao Del Norte, Davao DelNorte, Zamboanga Del Sur, Tawi-tawi, Misamis Occidental, Camiguin, Siguijor, Misamis Oriental, Cebu, Agusan Del Norte, Zambonga Del Norte, Albay, Saranggani, Negros Oriental, Ifugao and Negros Occidental were considered under high risk.
Very high risk under the rainfall change category are the provinces of Albay, Pampanga, Ifugao, Rizal, Cavite, Sorsogon, Laguna, Biliran, Batangas, Pangasinan, Masbate, Metro Manila, Tarlac, Nueva Ecija, Northern Samara, Aklan, Capiz and La Union; while Western Samar and Romblon were placed under high risk.
Under the El Nino event induced droughts or abnormal increase in rainfall, the provinces of Sulu, Basilan, Maguindanao, Lanao Del Sur, Lanao Del Norte, and Davao Del Norte were placed under very high risk; while the provinces of Misamis Occidental, Sarangani, Zamboanga Del Sur, South Cotabato, Zamboanga Del Norte, North Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Siquijor, Tawi-tawi, Negros Oriental, Camiguin, Davao Oriental, Misamis Oriental and Bukidnon were placed under high risk.
For typhoons with strong winds and heavy rainfall, the provinces of Ifugao, La Union, Cagayan,Ilocos Sur, Albay, Mountain Provinces, Kalinga, Pangasinan and Sorsogon are under very high risk; while the provinces of Pampanga, Camarines Sur, Catanduanes, Nueva Ecija, Ilocos Norte, Northern Samar, Tarlac, Apayao, Rizal, Benguet, and Camarines Norte are under the high risk sub-category.
Those that are at very high risk for potential floods are Pangasinan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Maguindanao, Tarlac, Cagayan, Leyte, North Cotabato and Negros Occidental; while the provinces of Iloilo, Bulacan, Camarines Sur, Agusan Del Sur, Zamboanga Del Sur, Davao Del Sur, Sultan Kudarat, Oriental Mindoro, Davao Del Sur, Zambales and Isabela are placed under high risk sub-category.
