Disaster risk reduction and the state : the failure of no-build zones after Typhoon Haiyan

This chapter provides a study of disaster risk reduction (DRR) and planned relocation after Typhoon Haiyan, which hit the central Philippines in 2013. Typhoon Haiyan was the strongest recorded storm to make landfall. Soon after the disaster, the Recovery after Yolanda (RAY) plan proposed 'no- build zones' along shore and water lines, and resettlement of over 200,000 households, as a measure to reduce the risk of future disasters. The RAY plan implemented the National Disaster Risk Reduction Plan, which required relocation of local populations from hazardous areas purportedly to 'meet commitments' under the Hyogo Framework for Action. 4 The National Disaster Risk Reduction Plan is a product of the Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act, which created a national framework for implementing the Hyogo Framework for Adaptation Action (Hyogo Framework). The Hyogo Framework is the predecessor instrument to the Sendai Framework. The Haiyan case illustrates the filtering of priority actions under international DRR instruments through national preparedness planning to disaster recovery programming.