On the morning of November 5, 1991, Typhoon Uring internationally named Thelma poured down on Leyte, wreaking havoc and burying the Eastern and Western plains of the province in water sediment and debris. At least 4,000 people were killed in the flashflood triggered by heavy rains. Some 3,000 people were injured and about 2,500 were reported missing after the flood.
In just over 3 hours of flooding, water rose at an average of 3 to 5 feet at the peak of the flowing water rose by feet in 15 minutes. River along the coastal stretch overflowed when the water receded, it left behind sediment, 2 feet deep. Intense rainfall caused the massive flooding in Ormoc and part of Eastern and Western Leyte. But it was not clear why the typhoon unloaded such heavy rain when it crossed Leyte. While illegal logging and deforestation were to blame for the landslides, geographic conditions in the area also had to be considered. The soil in Ormoc watershed exceeded its capacity to hold water, while the central part of the island of Leyte classified as volcanic terrain has soil that is susceptible to erosion.
The flooding was also exacerbated by debris from poorly made infrastructure, one of the worst hit areas, Isla Verde, recorded a high death toll because the high risk area was allowed to be heavily populated. Debris from the forest carried by the flashflood was piled up on houses which caused a nearby dam to burst, sending floodwaters rampaging here when it struck the city considered the Ghost City due to plenty of dead bodies scattered and buried anywhere.
Anecita I. Ejada, Ed. D.
1991 FLASH FLOOD
On November 8, 2013 in the morning at around six o’clock, typhoon signal no. 4 was raised in Eastern Visayas. Typhoon Yolanda internationally named Haiyan, one of the strongest typhoon to hit the country left a trail of devastation along Eastern Visyas, hitting more than 6,000 people. In Ormoc City power and communication lines were cut off and roads were impassable, leaving the city isolated, most of the houses were roofless and Ormocanons were hopeless.
Anecita I. Ejada, Ed. D.
TYPHOON YOLANDA
On July 6,2017 Thursday at four o’clock in the afternoon, a magnitude of 6.5 earthquake hit Leyte province, the center of the earthquake was Kananga and the Geothermal Electric plant was totally affected or the electric power trip off, one casualty, 138 minor injuries, classes were suspended.
A hundred of aftershock have rocked Ormoc City since July 6, 2017 including a magnitude of 5.8 tremor on Monday morning, strong aftershock of earthquake at around 9:41 July 10 classes were suspended for one week both public and private school due to the pupils trauma of the ground shaking.
Anecita I. Ejada, Ed. D.
2017 EARTHQUAKE
