The Philippines is no stranger to natural hazards. Be these typhoons, monsoons, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, fires, and other events. You name it, the Philippines has experienced it.

The Philippines is located along the Ring of Fire — a vast area in the Pacific Ocean region where most of the world’s most powerful volcanic eruptions and earthquakes occur.

On tropical ocean waters, over eighty typhoons develop every year; about nineteen of these entering the Philippine area of responsibility. Between six and nine of those make landfall in the country — damaging homes and infrastructures, leaving a trail of casualties.

Here are two events that the Philippines experienced during the past two decades, claiming the lives of thousands of people and ruining the country’s infrastructure and agriculture.

Typhoon Yolanda in 2013

In November 2013, Typhoon Yolanda– internationally known as Haiyan hit the Philippines, especially in Tacloban and other parts of the Visayas.  Estimates vary on the death toll, ranging from 6,000 to 10,000.

Yolanda also destroyed agriculture and reportedly caused P1.250 billion worth of damaged infrastructures — leaving many Filipinos homeless orand without livelihoods for months or years.

The homes of many of the victims were originally built along the regions narrow coastal plains. Yolanda damaged or destroyed more than million houses, many of which were made from light materials, too weak to withstand Yolanda’s winds and storm surges. Since then the Philippine government and its international partners have been laboring to rehabilitate the affected region, with partial success.

Considering the destruction and loss of life, post-Yolanda, it’s better to have a basic plan for future reconstruction in case of another huge event.

The 1990 Luzon Earthquake

Another huge event was  the 1990 earthquake. A magnitude-7.9  temblor hit Northern and Central Luzon. Although the quake’s epicenter was in Nueva Ecija, the biggest devastation happened farther north in Baguio, where one of its famous structures, the Hyatt Terraces Baguio Hotel collapsed along with many other buildings.

The city was left in rubble from collapsed walls, houses, and other structures. The killer quake caused the deaths of more than 1,200 people and destroyed more than 25,000 houses.

Many hotels and establishments around the city were damaged. Everyone thought the popular tourist city would get shut down after such a horrendous tragedy.

However, the city got back to its feet, with a lot of resources and supporters.

Solutions to lessen the impact of huge natural hazards

Storms, floods, earthquakes, and the like do not just destroy homes and claim lives — they can also wipe out years or decades of social and economic progress in the affected area.

According to the reports of the World Bank and the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery, after an extreme natural calamity wrecks the country, thousands or even millions of people slide into poverty, resulting in huge economic losses.

Filipinos, unfortunately, are not all able to plan ahead for high hazards. For example, they may be building their houses, buildings, and structures according to minimum required standards; also, they typically are not getting house or building insurance. This type of passivity and fatalism must change.

The potential damage from hazards can be reduced significantly if we build resilient structures that can survive earthquakes, fires, floods, and typhoons.

Such structures will lessen the physical damage and reduce the number of casualties. They also help the economy and society to recover more quickly — as they can be used productively again in the aftermath.

Let us not repeat the mistakes of the past. It is time we take proactive steps to secure and make resilient our buildings and homes; have them conform to the best standards of design and construction.

We take pride in the Filipinos’ resilience of spirit; but after the social and economic catastrophes we have been through, we should focus on making our houses, buildings, and other structures resilient as well.