Geography of The Philippines

Geography of The Philippines

The Philippines is a tropical country in Pacific Ocean, blessed with beautiful natural landscapes - and active volcanoes and extreme weather patterns.

The Philippines, consisting of some 7,107 islands, is located in the western Pacific Ocean. Taiwan lies to its north, and Vietnam to the west.
It is the 73rd-largest country in the world by surface area, but with a population of some 98 million people, making it the seventh most populous country in Asia, and the 12th most populous in the world.
Its capital, Manila, is the second largest city in the country after Quezon City (the former capital) - and home to most of the country's educational and political institutions.

Natural Disasters

Typhoon Haiyan is one of the deadliest natural disasters ever to hit the Philippines. But it’s far from the only one - the Southeast Asian country is located in an area that has been struck by a number of major storms.

The Philippines has suffered from an inexhaustible number of deadly typhoons, earthquakes, volcano eruptions and other natural disasters. This is due to its location along the Ring of Fire, or typhoon belt – a large Pacific Ocean region where many of Earth’s volcanic eruptions and earthquakes occur.
Annually, approximately 80 typhoons develop above tropical waters, of which 19 enter the Philippine region and six to nine make landfall, according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC).

The Philippines is in fact the country most exposed to tropical storms in the world. Violent tropical storms, such as the latest Haiyan typhoon, can generate 10 times as much energy as the Hiroshima atomic bomb.

Here is a list of earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, typhoons, cyclones and other natural disasters the Philippines has had to cope with during the past decade - leaving thousands of people dead and the country's infrastructure and economy in tatters.

Bohol earthquake, October 2013
Typhoon Bopha, November-December 2012
Pantukan landslide, January 2012
Tropical Storm Washi, December 2011
Typhoon Fengshen, June 2008
Cyclone Durian, November 2006
Guinsaugon landslide, February 2006

Tropical Depression Winnie, November 2004