By Ethan Wong

In November 2024, the Military Responses to Climate Hazards (MiRCH) tracker identified 18 military deployments in response to climate-related disasters in 11 countries, including responses to a series of four typhoons in the Philippines and sustained recovery efforts after October’s catastrophic flooding in Spain.

In the Philippines, four back-to-back typhoons battered the archipelago throughout the month, prompting sustained military deployments for disaster response. On November 7, Typhoon Yinxing made landfall as a Category 4 storm, bringing intense winds, storm surge, and heavy rains to the province of Cagayan, on the northern island of Luzon. Within the following week, Typhoon Toraji and Typhoon Usagi hit the northern coast of the Philippines, forcing the evacuation of tens of thousands. Finally, Typhoon Man-yi hit the eastern island of Cantanduanes on November 16, before making a second landfall the next day in the north of the country, triggering landslides and flash floods. The Philippine Armed Forces was active throughout the storms, with hundreds of military teams deployed to conduct evacuations, deliver humanitarian assistance, and help with recovery efforts. Although the Philippines is frequently impacted by tropical cyclones, the country has been experiencing an exceptionally difficult and destructive storm season, with Typhoon Man-yi marking the sixth major storm to impact the Philippines in the span of just four weeks. The high frequency of storms amplified by warming illustrates the growing challenges to armed forces due to climate change, with continuous climate hazards threatening to overwhelm capacities for response, strain resources, and wear down forces.

Meanwhile, recovery efforts continued in Spain, following the unprecedented and catastrophic flooding in Valencia that killed more than 200 people last month. 7,500 military personnel as well as vehicles, helicopters, and an amphibious boat, are now involved in the recovery and clean-up efforts, making it Spain’s largest ever peacetime troop deployment. In addition, the Portuguese Armed Forces have sent 28 military personnel and 12 vehicles, including excavators and pumps, to support the Spanish authorities. The ongoing military operation emphasizes the severity of the crisis and the lasting impacts of extreme weather events on communities.

The long-term consequences of climate hazards were further illustrated in Alaska, where the Alaska National Guard delivered roughly 14,000 pounds of frozen meat to the community of Toksook Bay in the second half of November under the Department of Defense’s Innovative Readiness Training, a program designed to increase readiness while simultaneously providing key services to American communities. The deliveries helped replenish Toksook Bay’s supplies as the community continued to recover from Typhoon Merbok in September 2022, which destroyed food reserves and hindered subsequent subsistence activities.

Moreover, storms and extreme precipitation also drew in militaries across  Latin America. In mid-November, Tropical Storm Sara slowly moved across the coast of Honduras before making landfall in Belize, bringing torrential rains that swelled rivers and triggered mudslides. The Belize Defense Forces and the Honduras Armed Forces deployed to flood-affected areas to support emergency response operations, distribute aid, and provide logistical support. Additionally, on November 12, 150 personnel from the Salvadoran Armed Forces, along with medical supplies and food, arrived in Costa Rica on a humanitarian mission to assist the country as it recovered from Hurricane Rafael. In Colombia, the National Army delivered 350 humanitarian aid kits in mid-November to municipalities that were hit the hardest by recent rainfall and flooding, and 300 military personnel were deployed in Bolivia to evacuate residents and support recovery efforts after heavy precipitation at the end of the month. Similarly, in early November, members of the Trinidad and Tobago Army were deployed to inundated communities in the Penal/Debe Regional Corporation to transport residents cut off by floodwaters caused by immense rainfall.