Climate and Environment
October 23, 2026 | 2:18pm
This aerial view taken on July 7, 2025, shows wooden boats anchored beside cramped houses on Isla Pugad in Hagonoy town, Bulacan province, north of Manila. Sea levels across the Philippines as a whole are rising three times faster than the global average of 3.6 millimeters per year, and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has said this could accelerate to 13 millimeters annually.
AFP / Ted Aljibe
MANILA, Philippines — Four in five Filipino adults said they had been personally affected by disasters linked to natural hazards in the past five years, the highest share among 140 countries and territories surveyed in a global poll.
The Philippines' 80% rate was the highest recorded in the Lloyd's Register Foundation's 2026 World Risk Poll, which examined people's experiences of disasters, early warning systems and resilience.
Gallup conducted the survey across 140 countries and territories throughout 2025. The report defines disasters as the result of hazards having significant consequences for people.
In the Philippines, tropical storms emerged as the hazard with the greatest reported impact, cited by 52% of adults.
But experiences varied considerably across the country.
The Visayas recorded the highest reported impact from tropical storms at 67%, followed by provinces in Luzon outside Metro Manila at 59%.
In Metro Manila, 44% reported being affected by tropical storms, while 39% cited floods.
Mindanao stood out for earthquakes, with 44% of respondents in the region reporting being affected by them.
Philippines as most affected
Globally, 20% of adults surveyed said they had personally been affected by a disaster related to a natural hazard within the past five years.
The impact was substantially higher in poorer countries. Nearly one in three adults, or 31%, in low-income countries reported being affected, according to the poll.
Of the 10 countries with the highest self-reported disaster impacts, nine were classified as low-income or lower-middle-income economies, alongside Hong Kong. Eight were in sub-Saharan Africa.
The Philippines nevertheless ranked above all of them at 80%.
While those in lower-income countries tended to report greater disaster impacts, they also have fewer of the resources associated with preparedness and resilience.
Among adults in low-income countries, 42% said they could protect themselves in a future disaster, while 29% had a household plan for coping with one.
The poll also found higher levels of concern about weather-related hazards in low-income countries, with 52% saying they were very worried about serious harm from severe weather such as floods and storms.
How the Philippines was surveyed
Gallup interviewed 1,000 people in the Philippines from October 2 to December 5, 2025, through face-to-face interviews using handheld data collection. Respondents were asked about disasters that had personally affected them in the preceding five years, meaning the results reflect experiences through the time of the survey in late 2025.
Interviews were conducted in Filipino, Iluko, Cebuano, Hiligaynon, Waray and Bicol.
Gallup reported a maximum margin of error of 3.6 percentage points for the Philippine sample at the 95% confidence level.
The findings come as the Philippines faces renewed climate risks heading into 2027. DOST has warned that drought conditions could emerge in parts of the country from October and persist into March 2027, while a strong to very strong El Niño is expected to continue through the first half of next year. — Alyana Uy
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