Epidemics, Diseases, Health and Safety Emergencies Arising from Climate Change and Disasters in the Philippines

The study aims to present the data on the frequency and severity of disasters brought about by climate change in the Philippines, the common diseases in affected communities, the immediate health effects after a natural disaster and the preceding environmental risk factors, as well as the epidemics that have plagued the country for the past years. Data were gathered from records of local and international agencies. The Philippines is highly vulnerable and has actually hosted floods, landslides, typhoons resulting from climate change. The Philippines is fourth among countries that are most exposed to multiple hazards due to natural disasters with a risk exposure covering 22.3% of total area, and 36.4% of population being affected. Climate change is an aggravating factor to the occurrence of natural disasters such as typhoons and droughts as these have the potential to adversely affect human societies. Additionally, the Philippines is the third country with the highest risk for natural disasters, after Vanuatu and Tonga, based on the World Risk Index 2018. The study showed that there are immediate adverse health effects of natural disasters. Drought brings about protein malnutrition; destruction of water and sewerage systems bring about unsanitary conditions that harbor communicable diseases; and variations in climate implicate changes in patterns of occurrences of vector-borne diseases. The study also showed that most common communicable diseases arising from disasters and emergencies include diarrhea, acute respiratory infection, measles and malaria. In the international scene, cholera, diarrhea, hepatitis A and E, measles, meningitis, tetanus, diarrhea, leptospirosis, acute respiratory syndrome, coccidiomycosis, and malaria were reported to be the major epidemics after a type of natural disaster. Natural disaster can inhibit economic development of the nation, and therefore, the Philippines is challenged to come up with and implement a comprehensive disaster preparedness and mitigation measures for disasters and health epidemics.