Ormoc

City and port of Leyte province on Leyte Island in the Philippines; population (2000) 154,300. It serves a commercial sugar cane district, and has food-processing industries. During World War II, Ormoc was one of Japan's largest supply bases.

Ormoc was the scene of an ecological catastrophe in November 1991 when, following a typhoon, vast amounts of water washed down from the mountains to the plains, killing 5,000 and leaving 50,000 people homeless; progressive, illegal tree-felling had left the hill slopes denuded of vegetation, and the topsoil was swept away by the floods.