Answer:
The Philippine Archipelago is situated between Taiwan and Borneo, with the waters of the Pacific Ocean and China Sea washing its coastline. Due to its geographical location astride the Pacific Typhoon Belt, cyclonic storms and floods have been the principal natural hazard in the Philippines—based on frequency of occurrence and scale of intensity. The densely populated island of Luzon and the Visayan Islands are most adversely affected by typhoons which are accompanied by wind, rain, tidal waves and floods. In the track of these storms, public buildings, wharves, ships, communication lines, roads, bridges and local dwellings are either destroyed or damaged, and agriculture is severely disrupted. Consequently, it is important to understand where typhoons originate and the historical difficulties associated with forecasting the approach and/or trajectory of a typhoon.
Explanation:
The second type of cyclonic storm, the more intense wind typhoon, generally strikes in summer and autumn—the months of October, November and December are when these form and hit the coasts of southern Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao. The wind typhoons tend to move on a west-north-westerly course. They bring hurricane-force winds and extreme disaster in their deepening or mature stages to the Bikol region, the Visayas—particularly Leyte and Samar—and the regions of northern Mindanao. Wind speeds of these cyclonic storms often reach up to 322 kilometres per hour (km/h)/200 miles per hour (mph), and are often accompanied by 4.5 to 6 metre/15 to 20 feet storm surges. In November 2013, Super Typhoon Haiyan, moving on a west-north-westerly trajectory, surpassed these statistics by bringing wind speeds of an estimated 380 km/h, and a storm surge of up to 6 metres.
