Coping with Extreme Climatic Events: Stories of Resiliency in the Philippines

The Philippines has recently been experiencing the adverse effects of climate change, and its most common manifestation is the increasing frequency of extreme events like El Nino, La Nina, and strong typhoons.

In 2009, the country greatly suffered when it was successively hit by super typhoons Ondoy (Ketsana), Pepeng (Parma), and Quedan (Melor).

According to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), the country’s climate monitoring body, an average of 20 typhoons enter the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) annually, of which, about nine to ten have combined strong winds and rainfall which can disrupt agricultural production and cause damage to infrastructure.