Two-year-old girl killed by landslide in Catbalogan City on Samar Island, Philippines.

A two-year-old girl has been killed and three other people have been injured after a landslide destroyed a house in the Barangay Basiao area of Catbalogan City on Samar Island, Philippines. The incident happened late in the evening of Sunday 29 December 2024, following several days of rain in the area.  Landslides are a common problem after severe weather events, as excess pore water pressure can overcome cohesion in soil and sediments, allowing them to flow like liquids. Approximately 90% of all landslides are caused by heavy rainfall. The three people injured are described as  35-year-old man, a 30-year-old-woman, and a baby girl, who were members of the family living in the house. A neighbouring house was also damaged in the incident.

The remains of a house destroyed by a landslide in Catbalogan City on 29 December 2024. RPN DYKC Cebu.

Residents of nearby homes have been evacuated while the situation is assessed, and local government units are also carrying out assessments, and where necessary further evacuations, in other areas which may be at risk of landslips. Much of the island of Samar is currently suffering froom flooding, associated with the Northern Monsoon.

Monsoons are tropical sea breezes triggered by heating of the land during the warmer part of the year (summer). Both the land and sea are warmed by the Sun, but the land has a lower ability to absorb heat, radiating it back so that the air above landmasses becomes significantly warmer than that over the sea, causing the air above the land to rise and drawing in water from over the sea; since this has also been warmed it carries a high evaporated water content, and brings with it heavy rainfall. In the tropical dry season the situation is reversed, as the air over the land cools more rapidly with the seasons, leading to warmer air over the sea, and thus breezes moving from the shore to the sea (where air is rising more rapidly) and a drying of the climate.

Diagrammatic representation of wind and rainfall patterns in a tropical monsoon climate. Geosciences/University of Arizona.

Southeast Asia has two distinct Monsoon Seasons, with a Northeast Monsoon driven by winds from  the South China Sea during the Southern Hemisphere Summer and a Southwest Monsoon driven by winds from the southern Indian Ocean in the Northern Hemisphere Summer. Such a double Monsoon Season is common close to the equator, where the Sun is highest overhead around the equinoxes and lowest on the horizons around the solstices, making the solstices the coolest part of the year and the equinoxes the hottest.

The winds that drive the Northeast and Southwest Monsoons in Southeast Asia. Mynewshub.

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Pseuderia samarana: A new species of climbing Orchid from Samar Island in the Philippines.

Epidendroid Orchids, Epidendroideae, are the largest subfamily of Orchids, with over 15 000 described species, more than all other Orchid groups combined. The majority of these species are epiphytic (live on other plants, typically in the canopy of rainforest trees), though terrestrial forms are known. The group is found across the globe, with the exception of the polar regions, the deserts of Africa, Arabia and Australia, and the southern part of South America. The genus Pseuderia comprises about 20 species of climbing Epidendroid Orchids found in the Moluccas, Micronesia, the Solomon Islands, Fiji, and New Guinea, where the genus reaches its maximum diversity.

In a paper published in the journal Taiwania on 16 August 2019, Zhereeleen Meneses of the Institute of Biological Sciences at the University of the Philippines, and James Cootes of Woodbine in New South Wales, describe a new species of Pseuderia from Samar Island in the Philippines.

The new species is named Pseuderia samarana, in reference to the area where it was found. It is a climbing Orchid that starts as a seedling on the ground, climbs up a tree, and eventually becomes a true epiphyte, losing its original roots and stem and living entirely in the canopy. Pseuderia samarana has blade like leaves and yellow flowers with purple markings born in pairs on short peduncles emerging from the main stems.

Pseuderia samarana: Inflorescences bearing 2 flowers borne on short peduncles. Meneses & Coates (2019).

Pseuderia samarana was found climbing spindly trees on limestone hills in the municipality of Paranas. It was found only at a single location, which lies within the Samar Island Natural Park, which in theory gives it some protection. However, the area is known to have major deposits of copper and gold, and the species occupies a total area of only 0.166 km², with a total population of only 20-30 mature plants, for which reason Meneses and Coates consider the species to be Critically Endangered under the  terms of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species.

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Landslide injures two in Catbalogan City, the Philippines.

Two people have been injured after a landslide broke through a perimeter wall and swept away several lightly constructed houses in the Barangay Mercedes area of Catbalogan City, on Samar Island in the Philippines, on Tuesday 17 September 2019. The area had been identified as being at a high risk following heavy rains associated with Typhoon Marilyn, which swept past the islands last week, and an evacuation of the properties had been ordered by the authorities, but some people had remained, and it is unclear if they had been offered alternative accommodation. Landslides are a common problem after severe weather events, as excess pore water pressure can overcome cohesion in soil and sediments, allowing them to flow like liquids. Approximately 90% of all landslides are caused by heavy rainfall. The injured persons have been identified as Annabelle Cabarles, 36, and Kevin Cabarles, 14.

 A landslide in the Barangay Mercedes area of Catbalogan City, which injured two people on 17 September 2019. Philstar.

Tropical storms are caused by the warming effect of the Sun over tropical seas. As the air warms it expands, causing a drop in air pressure, and rises, causing air from outside the area to rush in to replace it. If this happens over a sufficiently wide area then the inrushing winds will be affected by centrifugal forces caused by the Earth's rotation (the Coriolis effect). This means that winds will be deflected clockwise in the northern hemisphere and anti-clockwise in the southern hemisphere, eventually creating a large, rotating Tropical Storm. They have different names in different parts of the world, with those in the northwest Pacific being referred to as typhoons.

 Despite the obvious danger of winds of this speed, which can physically blow people, and other large objects, away as well as damaging buildings and uprooting trees, the real danger from these storms comes from the flooding they bring. Each drop millibar drop in air-pressure leads to an approximate 1 cm rise in sea level, with big tropical storms capable of causing a storm surge of several meters. This is always accompanied by heavy rainfall, since warm air over the ocean leads to evaporation of sea water, which is then carried with the storm. These combined often lead to catastrophic flooding in areas hit by tropical storms.

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Three confirmed dead as Tropical Storm Kai-Tek sweeps across the Philippines.

Three people have been confirmed dead after Tropical Storm Kai-Tek swept across the Philippines on Saturday 16 December 2017. The storm made landfall on Samar Island, where 77 000 people have been evacuated from low lying areas, and seven people are known to have been injured amid widespread flooding. All three confirmed deaths occurred on the neighbouring island of Leyte, and include a woman killed by a landslide, a three-year-old boy who drowned and another person who was sucked down a manhole. Two further deaths have been reported on the islands of Biliran and Dinagat, though authorities have not yet been able to confirm these.

Flooding in Eastern Samar Province on Samar Island, the Philippines, in the wake of Tropical Storm Kai-Tek. Rhoda Baris/Rappler.

Tropical storms are caused by solar energy heating the air above the oceans, which causes the air to rise leading to an inrush of air. If this happens over a large enough area the inrushing air will start to circulate, as the rotation of the Earth causes the winds closer to the equator to move eastwards compared to those further away (the Coriolis Effect). This leads to tropical storms rotating clockwise in the southern hemisphere and anticlockwise in the northern hemisphere.These storms tend to grow in strength as they move across the ocean and lose it as they pass over land (this is not completely true: many tropical storms peter out without reaching land due to wider atmospheric patterns), since the land tends to absorb solar energy while the sea reflects it.

 The passage of Tropical Storm Kai-Tek till 12.00 noon GMT on Saturday 16 December 2017  (thick line) with its predicted future path (thin line, circles represent the margin of error on the predictions). Colours indicate the strength of the storm. Tropical Storm Risk.

The low pressure above tropical storms causes water to rise there by ~1 cm for every millibar drop in pressure, leading to a storm surge that can overwhelm low-lying coastal areas, while at the same time the heat leads to high levels of evaporation from the sea - and subsequently high levels of rainfall. This can cause additional flooding on land, as well as landslides, which are are a common problem after severe weather events, as excess pore water pressure can overcome cohesion in soil and sediments, allowing them to flow like liquids. Approximately 90% of all landslides are caused by heavy rainfall.

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At least 21 dead as Typhoon Hagupit sweeps across the Philippines.

Twenty-one people are reported to have died in the  the Philippines, as a result of Typhoon Hagupit (known locally as Typhoon Ruby), according the Philippine National Red Cross. The majority of the victims are said to be in the municipality of Borongan in Eastern Samar, where 16 people have lost their lives, with two other fatalities on the island of Samar and three in the province of Iloilo on the south of Panay Island. The majority of the victims are reported to have drowned in a storm surge caused by the typhoon, and it is though that the number of deaths would have been much higher but for a massive evacuation of low-lying areas organised by authorities in the Philippines.

 Storm surge on a beach at Legazpi in Albay Province on Sunday 7 December 2014. Aaron Favila/AP.

Typhoon Hagupuit made landfall on Saturday night near the town of Delores in Eastern Samar, bringing with it winds gusting at up to 170 km per hour, but lost energy as it past over the islands, with the highest wind speeds recorded as it passed over Manila on the west coast of Luzon Island being about 135 km per hour.

Damage to homes in Delores in East Samar Province, caused by Typhoon Hagupit. EPA.

Tropical storms are caused by solar energy heating the air above the oceans, which causes the air to rise leading to an inrush of air. If this happens over a large enough area the in rushing air will start to circulate, as the rotation of the Earth causes the winds closer to the equator to move eastwards compared to those further away (the Coriolis Effect). This leads to tropical storms rotating clockwise in the southern hemisphere and anticlockwise in the northern hemisphere.These storms tend to grow in strength as they move across the ocean and lose it as they pass over land (this is not completely true: many tropical storms peter out without reaching land due to wider atmospheric patterns), since the land tends to absorb solar energy while the sea reflects it.

 Damage to homes in Tacloban, in the Eastern Visayas caused by Typhoon Hagupit. Maria Byrne/BBC.

The low pressure above tropical storms causes water to rise there by ~1 cm for every millibar drop in pressure, leading to a storm surge that can overwhelm low-lying coastal areas, while at the same time the heat leads to high levels of evaporation from the sea - and subsequently high levels of rainfall. This can cause additional flooding on land, as well as landslides, which are are a common problem after severe weather events, as excess pore water pressure can overcome cohesion in soil and sediments, allowing them to flow like liquids. Approximately 90% of all landslides are caused by heavy rainfall.

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Death toll from Typhoon Haiyan nears 4000.                                                          The number of people known to have died after Typhoon Haiyan (known in the Philippines as Typhoon Yolanda) hit the Eastern Visayas islands in the central Philippines on Friday 8 November 2013...

Three dead and two missing as Typhoon Krosa sweeps across the north of Luzon Island.

Three people are known to have died and two more are still missing after Typhoon Krosa (known as Typhoon...

At least thirteen dead as Typhoon Nari sweeps across the Philippines.                         Thirteen people are known to have died and at least three more are still missing after Typhoon Nari swept across Luzon Island, making landfall on late on Friday...

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Magnitude 5.3 Earthquake off Samar Island, Philippines.

The United States Geological Survey recorded a Magnitude 5.3 Earthquake at a depth of 38 km, roughly 6 km offshore of the city of Hinundayan in Southern Leyte Province on Samar Island, Philippines, slightly before 8.00 am local time on Friday 25 July 2014 (slightly before 11.00 pm on Thursday 24 July, GMT). There are no reports of any casualties associated with this event, but several buildings have reportedly been damaged, including ten houses, four schools an hospital and a gymnasium.

The approximate location of the 25 July 2014 Southern Leyte Earthquake. Google Maps.

The geology of the central Philippines is Complex. The southwest of Samar Island is located on the Banda (or Sunda) Microplate, and the northeast on the Philippine Plate, which is being subducted beneath the Sunda (or Banda) Microplate along the central part of the island. Immediately to the east of the Island the Pacific Plate is being subducted along the Philippine Trench, and passes beneath eastern Samar as it sinks into the Earth. This is not a smooth process, an the plates constantly stick together then break apart again as the pressure builds up, resulting in Earthquakes.

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 Activity on Mount Mayon, Philippines.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology has recorded an increase in seismic activity over the past 24 hours (Saturday 28-Sunday 29 June 2014) beneath Mount Mayon, a 2463 m stratovolcano (cone shaped volcano) on southern Luzon Island...

 Magnitude 5.0 Earthquake in the Hinatuan Passage.

The United States Geological Survey recorded a Magnitude 5.0 Earthquake at a depth of 44.3 km beneath the Hinatuan Passage, to...

 Magnitude 4.6 Earthquake off Bohol Island, the Philippines.

The United States Geological Survey recorded a Magnitude 4.6 Earthquake at a depth of 10.0 km off the coast of Bohol Island in...

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Death toll from Typhoon Haiyan nears 4000.

The number of people known to have died after Typhoon Haiyan (known in the Philippines as Typhoon Yolanda) hit the Eastern Visayas islands in the central Philippines on Friday 8 November 2013 is likely to reach 4000 today (18 November), with the World Health Organization warning that the numbers dying is likely to rise further due to infected wounds not receiving adequate treatment and people being unable to gain medication for pre-existing medical conditions, such as diabetes or heart disease. The organization has further warned that conditions on the worst affected islands, Samar and Leyte, are a perfect environment for the spread of water-borne diseases such as cholera or typhoid.

Damage in Tacloban, the capitol of Leyte Island, following Typhoon Haiyan. World Vision Australia.

Typhoon Haiyan first hit the island of Kayangel in the Republic of Palau on Wednesday 6 November, where it is reported to have destroyed every home on the island, but miraculously not taken any lives. Two days later the Typhoon hit Samar Island in the Philippines bringing with it sustained winds of 315 km per hour (i.e. periods in which the wind speed stayed at or above 315 km per hour for over a minute), making it the most powerful tropical cyclone ever recorded making landfall and the fourth most powerful ever recorded. 

Survivors in Tacloban on 10 November 2013. Erik de Castro/Reuters/Trust/Care.

In addition to high winds Typhoon Haiyan brought widespread flooding, with 281.9 mm of rain recorded in Surigao City on Mindanao Island and a 5.2 m storm surge hitting Tacloban. The low pressure above tropical storms causes water to rise there by ~1 cm for every millibar drop in pressure, leading to a storm surge that can overwhelm low-lying coastal areas, while at the same time the heat leads to high levels of evaporation from the sea - and subsequently high levels of rainfall. This can cause additional flooding on land, as well as landslides, which are are a common problem after severe weather events, as excess pore water pressure can overcome cohesion in soil and sediments, allowing them to flow like liquids. Approximately 90% of all landslides are caused by heavy rainfall.

A ship lifted onto land by the storm surge that hit Tacloban. Stern.

Tropical storms are caused by solar energy heating the air above the oceans, which causes the air to rise leading to an inrush of air. If this happens over a large enough area the inrushing air will start to circulate, as the rotation of the Earth causes the winds closer to the equator to move eastwards compared to those further away (the Coriolis Effect). This leads to tropical storms rotating clockwise in the southern hemisphere and anticlockwise in the northern hemisphere.These storms tend to grow in strength as they move across the ocean and lose it as they pass over land (this is not completely true: many tropical storms peter out without reaching land due to wider atmospheric patterns), since the land tends to absorb solar energy while the sea reflects it.

Storm damage on southeast Panay Island in the Western Visayas (also Philippines). Reuters.

Typhoon Hainan is already considered to be the second most destructive storm ever to hit the Philippines (after Tropical Storm Thelma which killed over 8000 people in 1991), with some agencies predicting the death toll could eventually exceed 10 000. The International Red Cross is currently estimating 22 000 people are missing following the storm, though missing figures typically shrink significantly as infrastructure is restored following disaster events, and cannot be used as an accurate proxy for eventual casualties.

Bodies being placed in a mass grave at Basper Cemetery in Tacloban. Aaron Favila/AP.

See also Three dead and two missing as Typhoon Krosa sweeps across the north of Luzon Island, At least thirteen dead as Typhoon Nari sweeps across the Philippines, At least one person dead as Typhoon Utor sweeps across Luzon Island, Typhoon Bopha sweeps across the southern Philippines and Tropical Storm Son-Tinh kills at least 24 in the Philippines.

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