Things That Will Kill You In The Philippines - 1000 Ways To Die

Pea walks through the major natural threats to health and safety in the Philippines, covering venomous snakes, crocodiles, mosquitoes, rabid dogs, sharks, jellyfish, earthquakes, landslides, volcanoes, and typhoons. She mixes hard data with personal stories — including her firsthand survival of Super Typhoon Yolanda, one of the most devastating storms in Philippine history.

Snakes: The Philippine Cobra ​

• The Philippines has over 175 species of snakes; most avoid humans
• The Philippine Cobra is the deadliest of all cobras and the third most dangerous snake on the planet
• It can spit venom up to 10 feet with alarming accuracy and always aims for the eyes, which can cause permanent blindness
• Its bite kills in just 30 minutes by causing respiratory paralysis — you literally suffocate to death
• Found mostly in Luzon (northern Philippines, above Manila), in brush piles, forest floors, jungles near water, and agricultural fields
• Best defense: heavy footwear, watch where you step, wear sunglasses for the venom
• Problem: "Do everything your average barefoot Filipino farmer does not do" — which is why so many die from cobra bites each year

Saltwater crocodiles ​

• Found in marshlands of Mindanao (south) and Palawan (west)
• Known to snatch villagers bathing in water and pull fishermen off boats, never to be seen again
• The largest recorded saltwater croc (20.25 feet) was captured in the Philippines after eating some residents of Agusan del Sur, Mindanao
• Crocodile numbers are decreasing due to hunting, but attacks are increasing because habitat destruction from human construction has caused crocs to add humans to their menu

Mosquitoes: the real killer ​

• Responsible for more deaths than snakes and crocodiles combined
• The Asian tiger mosquito transmits both malaria and dengue fever
• 2019: 400,000 dengue cases in the Philippines resulting in 331 fatalities
• Dengue mosquitoes are most active 2 hours after sunrise and several hours before sunset
• They target ankles and elbows to avoid detection
• People with Type O blood are more attractive to mosquitoes; about 15% of humans are completely ignored by them
• Personal story: Pea got dengue fever at age 7 and spent almost a week delirious — jokes she was "talking nonsense about starting a YouTube channel"

Stray animals and rabies ​

• The Philippines has a massive stray animal problem that's both heartbreaking and dangerous
• Rabies kills 200-300 people per year, making the Philippines one of the top 10 countries for rabies
• Rabies attacks the central nervous system and has a 99.99% mortality rate — the highest of any disease on Earth
• Even in nicer neighborhoods, packs of unvaccinated stray dogs roam the streets
• Warning signs: dog foaming at the mouth or staggering like it's drunk — it may become aggressive and bite anything

Sharks: surprisingly not a major threat ​

• The Philippines has over 200 shark species including exotic ones like the lantern shark (bioluminescent skin) and the megamouth (first discovered in 1976, several specimens captured in Philippine waters)
• Most are completely harmless — sharks generally don't attack when their bellies are full, and Philippine waters are abundant with fish
• The tiger shark ("garbage eater of the sea") and bull shark (can live in both fresh and salt water) are dangerous but attacks are very unusual
• Only 602 recorded shark attacks in 400 years in the Philippines
• "You have a greater chance of being hit in the head by a falling coconut"

Box jellyfish: the real sea killer ​

• Philippine waters contain one of the most toxic life forms on the planet
• Each tentacle has 5,000 darts, each containing enough venom to kill up to 60 people
• Sting causes cardiac arrest within minutes; even survivors endure intense pain for weeks
• Averages 30 deaths per year in the Philippines alone
• "You guys wonder why most of us Filipinos don't swim"

Earthquakes ​

• The Philippines sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire with intense seismic activity
• Averages 20 earthquakes per day of various intensities
• No safe place in the country — over 8,000 died in the infamous 1976 Mindanao earthquake
• It's just a fact of life Filipinos accept

Landslides ​

• The Philippines is largely mountainous with villages precariously built on steep slopes
• Common during rainy season (which is half the year)
• Heavy rainfall loosens soil, sending it down hillsides like a muddy avalanche
• 2006: in southern Leyte, 10 days of rainfall caused a massive landslide that killed over 1,000 people and buried an entire town
• Only real prevention: live on flat land, which is easier said than done in the Philippines

Volcanoes ​

• Mount Canlaon on Pea's home island of Negros erupted just the previous month, evacuating thousands
• 1991: Mount Pinatubo erupted on Luzon, killing over 840 people — most died when roofs collapsed under heavy ash
• The Philippines has 300 volcanoes but only 24 are considered active
• Modern detection equipment usually provides enough early warning, so Pea says this isn't one she'd worry too much about

Typhoons: the deadliest threat of all (with personal testimony) ​

• The Philippines is on both the Pacific Ring of Fire and the Pacific Typhoon Belt
• About 20 typhoons hit per year, capable of literally wiping whole cities off the map
• Super Typhoon Yolanda (Hainan) struck at 7 a.m. on November 8, 2013 — the most powerful typhoon to hit the Philippines in the modern era
• It made a direct hit on Tacloban, Pea's city, with sustained winds of 195 mph
• The storm "utterly destroyed my city, sweeping away almost every building and killing more than 6,000 residents"
• Pea's firsthand account: "I witnessed things no human being should ever be forced to see"
• They piled bodies "like cordwood" — the smell was so overwhelming they covered their noses against the stench of dead friends and neighbors
• Bodies lay untouched for up to a month, contaminating groundwater and causing survivors to fall ill with typhoid fever
• She shot her own footage two days after the storm while trying to flee — roads were blocked or completely destroyed
• It took up to a year to restore power to many areas and almost a decade to rebuild the city
• Typhoons typically hit the eastern coastline in the center of the Philippines

📺 Watch the full video on YouTube

🔔 Subscribe to The Filipina Pea