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Typhoons During the COVID-19 Pandemic in the Philippines: Impact of a Double Crises on Mental Health

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 May 2021

Ian Christopher Naungayan Rocha Open the ORCID record for Ian Christopher Naungayan Rocha [Opens in a new window] ,
Ana Carla dos Santos Costa Open the ORCID record for Ana Carla dos Santos Costa [Opens in a new window] ,
Zarmina Islam Open the ORCID record for Zarmina Islam [Opens in a new window] ,
Shubhika Jain Open the ORCID record for Shubhika Jain [Opens in a new window] ,
Samarth Goyal Open the ORCID record for Samarth Goyal [Opens in a new window] ,
Parvathy Mohanan Open the ORCID record for Parvathy Mohanan [Opens in a new window] ,
Mohammad Yasir Essar Open the ORCID record for Mohammad Yasir Essar [Opens in a new window]  and
Shoaib Ahmad Open the ORCID record for Shoaib Ahmad [Opens in a new window]
Ian Christopher Naungayan Rocha*
Affiliation:
School of Medicine, Centro Escolar University, Manila, Philippines
Ana Carla dos Santos Costa
Affiliation:
Federal University of Bahia, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil
Zarmina Islam
Affiliation:
Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi, Pakistan
Shubhika Jain
Affiliation:
Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, Karnataka, India
Samarth Goyal
Affiliation:
Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, Karnataka, India
Parvathy Mohanan
Affiliation:
Medical University Sofia, Sofia, Bulgaria
Mohammad Yasir Essar
Affiliation:
Medical Research Center, Kateb University, Kabul, Afghanistan
Shoaib Ahmad
Affiliation:
Punjab Medical College, Faisalabad, Pakistan
*
Corresponding Author: Ian Christopher Naungayan Rocha, Email: [email protected].
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Abstract

The Philippines, a disaster-prone country in Asia, was hit by 22 tropical cyclones during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. Among the 22 tropical cyclones, 1 is recorded as the strongest tropical cyclone that made a landfall in world history. The recurrent typhoons in the Philippines during the pandemic have led to a long-lasting humanitarian crisis as hundreds of thousands of houses and collateral assets have been destroyed due to floods and landslides, leaving thousands of Filipinos homeless. Concurrently, the country has been experiencing a rise in the number of COVID-19 cases due to overcrowding in evacuation centers and lack of social distancing. The simultaneous existence of natural disasters and pandemic has caused devastating and detrimental effects to the mental health of Filipinos. Nonetheless, the Government of the Philippines, together with the World Health Organization and other humanitarian organizations, has been working hand-in-hand in implementing mental health approaches and providing psychological interventions to Filipinos who were greatly affected by the natural disasters and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Keywords

COVID-19disastersmental healthpandemicsPhilippinestyphoons
Type
Commentary
Information
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness , Volume 16 , Issue 6 , December 2022 , pp. 2275 - 2278
Copyright
© Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc. 2021

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