Impacts of and Adaptation to Extreme Weather Events: An Intra-household Perspective

This study documented and analyzed the experiences of households and their individual members during two extreme weather events in the Philippines in 2013. The first weather event took the form of heavy monsoon rain (local name: Habagat) and the subsequent widespread flooding in August 2013; this event affected households in Bacoor, Cavite. The second weather event was typhoon Haiyan (local name: Yolanda), which affected coastal households in Ajuy, Iloilo. Results showed that warnings, experience of flooding, and community adaptation activities were significant determinants of household adaptation in Bacoor. The results also showed that undergoing disaster risk reduction and management training, engaging in community adaptation, and receiving information from local government increased the likelihood of households in Ajuy undertaking preparations in advance of the weather event. The losses in Bacoor were about a third of household income. The welfare losses from typhoon Yolanda were estimated to be six times that of the household income in Ajuy; households in Ajuy with mangrove cover experienced less damages to their property by as much as PHP 7,641. Policy implications were derived from the results of the analysis.