The Philippines faces the highest climate-driven port damage costs in Southeast Asia, with annual losses projected to hit US$70.2 billion by 2100, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has warned.

Analysts say the damage could cripple supply chains, drive up food prices and threaten livelihoods, urging Manila to adopt a more coordinated approach to flood protection rather than simply strengthening port infrastructure.

In its latest report titled “Asia-Pacific Climate Report 2026: Coastal Risks on the Rise – Actions for a Resilient Future”, the ADB said the Philippines could sustain US$20.6 billion in port damage under a moderate-emissions scenario, in which sea levels were projected to rise by 50cm to 80cm.

A high-emissions scenario where sea levels could rise up to 1 metre could see annual port damages climb to US$70.2 billion by 2100.

In the Asia-Pacific region, the Philippines only trails China, with projected annual losses ranging from US$82.2 billion to US$332 billion, while India’s projections are from US$70 billion to US$254 billion, which would be expected to include the cost of repairing damaged port infrastructure and losses from maritime trade disruption.

Port damage can disrupt operations, delay shipments and interrupt supply chains that businesses and communities rely on for essential goods.

“Because these networks link farms to markets, fishers to buyers, and households to health services and food supplies, their disruption cascades directly into livelihoods, nutrition, and well-being,” said the report, released last Wednesday.

“The extent of exposed infrastructure is likely to increase as urban development increasingly puts these built assets in harm’s way.”In September, the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA), the agency tasked with regulating and managing the country’s seaports, said that it had embarked on efforts to strengthen its infrastructure, including climate- and disaster-resilient measures, to ensure business continuity and that ports could withstand typhoons and earthquakes and continue moving essential items in times of emergencies.

“We continue to conduct drills, test different scenarios, strengthen coordination, and improve our infrastructure so that when a disaster comes, our ports can continue serving as safe and reliable lifelines for the country,” PPA general manager Jay Santiago said in a statement. This Week in Asia has reached out to the authority for comments on the ADB report.

Manuel Jose Camagay, a transport, urban and logistics specialist, said the Philippines bore higher logistics costs than its neighbours in mainland Southeast Asia.

“Ports are gateways to supply chains and natural disasters play the crucial villainous role of disrupting the normal flow of goods and people across the country,” he said.

Ven Paolo Valenzuela, a research fellow at Singapore Management University’s College of Integrative Studies, said that when ports failed in an archipelagic country, the whole economy would stumble.

“We’re very dependent on ports. Your food prices spike, your supply chain is severely disrupted, and post-typhoon relief cannot access devastated islands or coastal communities,” Valenzuela said.

He echoed the report’s implications, adding that port damage created a compounding effect, from physical destruction to longer operational downtime.

Valenzuela added that sea level rise was not the sole factor that could devastate ports, though it amplified other hazards such as coastal flooding from storm surges, powerful winds from intensifying tropical cyclones and coastal erosion in port areas.

“Because of that, the disruption ripples across industries’ supply chains. You cannot move goods from Luzon to Visayas without going through a port,” he said, calling the problem a “big gap”. More than 20 typhoons hit the Philippines each year, affecting ports that dot its coasts.

Typhoon Haiyan in 2013 showed “how storm surges can wipe out ports and the communities around them”, Valenzuela said.

Camagay said that port damage was tantamount to trade and economic loss due to shipment delays and disruptions of basic commodities, losses of raw materials and equipment to continue operations, higher cost of goods and forgone income when deadlines were not met.

He also called ports “employment magnets” given their appeal to flocks of migrant workers living in urban areas around these ports.

Such communities were directly affected by port damage and coastal flooding, Valenzuela said, adding that Metro Manila’s main port complex, which handled the bulk of the country’s international and domestic container throughput, was vulnerable to storm surges, coastal flooding and knock-on effects of groundwater extraction.

Other coastal hubs such as Iloilo, Cebu, Batangas, Subic, Davao and Cagayan de Oro were seeing rapid urbanisation in flood-prone zones that outpaced the building of drainage and other protective infrastructure, he said. Valenzuela said the Philippines lacked the means to protect its ports against climate change.

“Technically, we know how to elevate and climate-proof ports – my own research in Japan proves it can be done sequentially without halting trade,” he said.

“It’s easy to defend the port itself, but if the surrounding infrastructure isn’t planned as a system, it doesn’t matter how nice your defences are.”Valenzuela said that raising a port to address sea level rise would be “pointless” if drainage systems from the land were blocked and if the challenges of land sinking were not addressed.

As for seismic risks, the Philippines cannot afford to ignore them, as it is a country prone to earthquakes, according to Valenzuela.

Meanwhile, the Philippines could look to Indonesia and Singapore to learn how these countries had progressively upgraded their port facilities to mitigate climate impact without causing disruptions to cargo operations, he said.

Indonesia had deployed floating piers, pontoons and logistics bases that could adjust to rising water levels, Valenzuela said.

Singapore had been protecting its ports as part of its national efforts against rising sea levels, anchored by a multibillion-dollar coastal and flood protection fund, he added.

Camagay said that at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations level, the bloc could also do its part to mitigate climate damage such as through its proposed adoption of green shipping operations, he added.

“The goal is to reduce, if not eliminate, the carbon footprint not only from the sea vessels but also from the cargo, the packaging and the use of plastics and anything that impacts the environment.”