Geomorphic and sedimentologic imprints of typhoons Durian and Haiyan storm surges on the Philippine coasts

• Main Author: Soria, Janneli Lea A.
• Other Authors: Adam Switzer
• Format: Theses and Dissertations
• Language: English
• Published: 2017
• Subjects: DRNTU::Science::Geology
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/69570
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Typhoon Haiyan tragically attests to the vulnerability of Philippine coasts to storm surge hazard. It has also highlighted the limited and patchy knowledge that exists on the impacts to immediately affected communities despite the high frequency of storm surges in the archipelago. Moving forward, this dissertation contributes to increasing the level of local and regional science-based knowledge by laying down groundwork on the geologic investigations of storm surge impacts in the Philippines. Two recent storm events namely the 2006 Typhoon Durian (Reming) and the 2013 Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) provided an opportunity to study the geomorphic and sedimentologic imprints of storm surges and the resulting coastal overwash. This dissertation though primarily built upon a geological framework of storm surge has benefited considerably from the integration of multiple disciplines including meteorology, oceanography, coastal engineering, and history. Overall, the multi-disciplinary approach led to (1) local understanding of storm surge dynamics and the factors affecting the spatial variation of amplification leading to inundation overland; (2) characterization of the onshore geomorphic and sediment imprints within the bounds of hydrodynamic conditions and sediment transport processes; and (3) historically oriented investigation of storm surge heights and the geologic impacts to the coasts near typhoon landfalls in the Philippines.