ADB: 7 PH cities most vulnerable to flooding

Typhoons and flooding as a result of climate change will damage more houses in the Philippines by 2085 as seven cities are seen vulnerable to the rise in sea levels, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said on Friday.

In a report, the Manila-based multilateral lender warned that unabated climate change will “severely affect future growth, reverse current development gains, and degrade quality of life” in the region, citing the results of its new joint report with the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) titled “A Region at Risk: The Human Dimensions of Climate Change in Asia and the Pacific.”

In the case of the Philippines, the cities of Butuan, Davao, Iloilo, Caloocan, Malabon, Manila and Taguig will be most exposed to one-meter sea-level rise, the ADB said in a fact sheet, citing that “coastal and low-lying areas in the region will be at an increased risk of flooding.”

“Losses from tropical cyclones in the Asia and the Pacific by 2085 include a 17-58 percent increase in direct housing damage in the Philippines if no adaptive measures are taken,” the ADB added.

According to the ADB, “more intense typhoons and tropical cyclones are expected to hit Asia and the Pacific with rising global mean temperatures.”

In the report, the ADB noted that “the Philippines is particularly vulnerable to natural hazards,” which usually results into migration.

Citing recent studies, “natural disasters are expected to cause further displacement from rural to urban areas, as has already occurred in the past,” the ADB said, although “displacement after natural disasters in the Philippines is usually localized as people want to stay as close to their homes as possible.”

Including the rest of Southeast Asia, the region was “projected to be one of the most affected regions by heat extremes,” according to the ADB.

“Southeast Asia is particularly vulnerable to flooding, since there is a concentration of low-lying populated deltas. Already, the number of record-breaking rainfall events has significantly increased over the last decades.,” the ADB said.