Legazpi

Legazpi serves as the capital of the Albay province and is the Bicol region’s economic and political center. The component city is bound by Santo Domingo to the north, Daraga to the west, and Manito to the south, while the Albay Gulf surrounds the city in the east.

Legazpi has a wide range of natural resources, including fishing grounds, metallic ore reserves, and other industrial non-metallic reserves.

Climate Change Vulnerability

• Legazpi is susceptible to a range of natural hazards such as flooding, typhoons, as well as volcanic and seismic activity.

• In 2006, the Milenyo, Reming and Seniang typhoons devastated the city, causing hundreds of deaths and approximately PHP 8 billion in damages.

• The city’s immediate peril is Mount Mayon, an active volcano that has erupted several times since 1984.

• Heavy rains can send mudflows of ash and debris from the volcano, known as lahar, down the hillsides and into villages in the city.

• The city also experiences on average three to five cyclones every year, which inundate its low-lying coastal areas.

• Earthquakes and the subsequent threat of tsunamis are additional high risks to Legazpi.

Climate & Urban Profile

1. Population: 196,639 Population Density: 1,216.75 pp/sq. km

2. Land Area: 161.61 sq. km.

3. No. of Barangays: 70

4. Income Classification: 2nd IRA Dependency Rate: 61%

5. No. of Days w/ Rainfall >300 mm 2020:* 4 2050:** 11

6. No. of Dry Days 2020:* 3,698 2050:** 3,811

7. Projected Increase in Temperature (°C) 2020:* 1.2 2050:** 2.2

8. Seasonal Rainfall Change (%) 2020:* 14.30 2050:** 25.30

9. * 2006-2035, with 2020 as midpoint
   ** 2036-2065, with 2050 as midpoint

Urbanisation

• In 2017, a seawall cum boulevard project in the northern part of Legazpi started phase one construction. The project is part of the city’s PHP 2.1 billion flood control project, which is supervised by the Department of Public Works and Highways in cooperation with the City Engineering Office.

• While 70% of Legazpi is still rural and agricultural, the city has experienced rapid urbansation in recent decades, and hosts one of the largest airports in the region.

• In the Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CULP) from 2008, Legazpi’s mission was to promote economic growth and sustainable development in the city, and to provide effective and efficient delivery of basic services under a climate of social justice with the active participation of all sectors of the community.

Environmental Initiatives and Climate Change Adaption

• Legazpi has in recent years taken considerable measures to step up disaster risk management and reduction, with the city’s Disaster and Coordinating Council (LCDCC). This is also reflected in its land-use planning where areas near the coast and within 6 to 8 km of Mount Mayon are considered no-build zones.

• Legazpi was a recipient of the first Climate-Adaptive and Disaster-Resilient (CLAD) Award for Cities and Municipalities by the Climate Change Commission (CCC).

• The award was based on the city’s projects to grow mangroves and fruit bearing trees, establishing organic gardens and a pilot for rainwater impounding system.

• As part of the Albay Province’s adoption of the policy, the city is part of a “Zero Casualty” framework toward natural disasters, which has also become the basis of national reforms in the Philippines for preparing for disasters and climate change.