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Practices in disaster mitigation in the case of the 2015 Typhoon Koppu debris flows in Nueva Ecija, Philippines

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Abstract

In October 2015, heavy rains brought by Typhoon Koppu generated landslides and debris flows in the municipalities of Bongabon, Laur, and Gabaldon in Nueva Ecija province. Satellite images and clusters of landslides show that most of the rain fell in the Sierra Madre mountains in Nueva Ecija and Aurora provinces. Landslides of rock, soil, and debris then converged in the mountain stream networks where they were remobilized into debris flows that destroyed numerous houses and structures. Approximately 42 million cubic meters of materials were mobilized into debris flows. Accurate forecasts enabled the municipal governments to warn residents to prepare for flooding and landslides. The debris flows occurred during the day, which may have helped to prevent deaths, unlike the 2004 Aurora debris flows which occurred at night, or the 2012 New Bataan disaster that happened very early in the morning. Here, we explain why the Typhoon Koppu debris flows caused no casualties due to mitigation mechanisms that were in place. We feature the people-centered early-warning system embedded in the Pre-Disaster Risk Assessment protocol of the Office of Civil Defense after the 2004 and 2012 debris flow disasters killed 1440 people.

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Abbreviations

ARG:

Automated rain gauge

AWS:

Automated weather stations

CCA:

Climate change adaptation

CLUP:

Comprehensive land use plan

DEM:

Digital elevation model

DOST:

Department of Science and Technology

DRR:

Disaster risk reduction

GIS:

Geographic Information System

GPM:

Global precipitation measurement

I-D:

Intensity-duration

IMERG:

Integrated Multi-SatellitE Retrievals for GPM

JAXA:

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency

LCCAP:

Local Climate Change Action Plan

LDRRMP:

Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Plan

LGU:

Local government unit

MDCCOC:

Municipal Disaster Coordinating Council Operation Center

MGB:

Mines and Geosciences Bureau

MDRRMC:

Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council

MDRRMO:

Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office

NASA:

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

NDCC:

National Disaster Coordinating Council

NDRRMC:

National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council

NDRP:

National Disaster Response Plan

NOAH:

Nationwide Operational Assessment of Hazards

OCD:

Office of Civil Defense

PAGASA:

Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration

PDRA:

Pre-Disaster Risk Assessment

PDPFP:

Provincial Development and Physical Framework Plan

PSA:

Philippine Statistics Authority

TRMM:

Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission

UP:

University of the Philippines

WLMS:

Water-level monitoring systems

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Acknowledgements

The work described in this paper is supported by the UP NOAH under the initiative then of the Department of Science and Technology for an improved disaster prevention system and mitigation in the Philippines. The authors are also grateful to the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority for providing the digital terrain model, to Hector Ariola and Naomi Irapta for assistance in the field, and the local government of Gabaldon and the Nueva Ecija University of Science and Technology for the logistical support.

Funding

This work was funded by the Department of Science and Technology Grants-in-Aid (DOST-GIA) for the project Enhancing Landslide Hazard Maps with LIDAR and High-Resolution Imageries under the then Nationwide Operational Assessment of Hazards (NOAH).

Author information

Author notes

  1. Rodrigo Eco

    Present address: Marine Science Institute, University of the Philippines, Quezon City, Philippines

  2. Jo Brianne Louise Briones

    Present address: Public Relations and Information Division Philippine Space Agency C/O EEEI, University of the Philippines Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines

  3. Jan Albert Macario Galang

    Present address: Geoscience Division, Mines and Geosciences Bureau – MIMAROPA, Manila, Philippines

  4. Jasmine May Sabado

    Present address: Development Academy of the Philippines, Pasig, Philippines

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Volcano-Tectonics Laboratory, National Institute of Geological Sciences, University of the Philippines Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines

    Francesca V. Llanes, Rodrigo Eco, Tatum Miko Herrero, Jo Brianne Louise Briones, Carmille Marie Escape, Jolly Joyce Sulapas, Jan Albert Macario Galang, Iris Jill Ortiz, Jasmine May Sabado & Alfredo Mahar Francisco Lagmay

  2. NOAH Center, UP Resilience Institute, University of the Philippines, Quezon City, Philippines

    Francesca V. Llanes, Rodrigo Eco, Tatum Miko Herrero, Jo Brianne Louise Briones, Carmille Marie Escape, Jolly Joyce Sulapas, Jan Albert Macario Galang, Iris Jill Ortiz, Jasmine May Sabado & Alfredo Mahar Francisco Lagmay

  3. Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, USA

    Kelvin Rodolfo

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  1. Francesca V. Llanes
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Contributions

All authors participated in field data collection and in writing the draft of the paper. The section on debris-flow thresholds and most of the discussion were written by Francesca V. Llanes. Analysis of fieldwork data, the introduction and the section on fieldwork results were done by Rodrigo Eco and Tatum Miko Herrero. Data gathering interviews with local government officials and residents of affected areas were conducted by Jo Brianne Louise Briones. Remote sensing and landslide inventory were conducted by Carmille Marie Escape and Jolly Joyce Sulapas. Sections on alluvial fans, catchment identification, and additional inputs on the results were written by Jan Albert Macario Galang, Iris Jill Ortiz, and Jasmine May Sabado. Revisions on the manuscript to arrive at its current form and substantial inputs on the discussion and conclusions were done by Francesca V. Llanes, Alfredo Mahar Francisco A. Lagmay, and Kelvin S. Rodolfo.

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Correspondence to Francesca V. Llanes.

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Llanes, F.V., Eco, R., Herrero, T.M. et al. Practices in disaster mitigation in the case of the 2015 Typhoon Koppu debris flows in Nueva Ecija, Philippines. Nat Hazards 114, 665–690 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-022-05407-7

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