Disaster Risks of the Seven Filipino-Spanish Churches of the Diocese of Maasin, Philippines | Disaster Risks ng Pitong Pilipino-Espanyol na Simbahan ng Diyosesis ng Maasin sa Pilipinas

Abstract

In the Roman Catholic Diocese of Maasin, on the island of Leyte, Philippines, there remain today seven Filipino-Spanish churches that are made of stone, mortar and wood, ranging from almost four centuries to more than a century old. The Island of Leyte, as home to 22 active and dormant volcanoes, as exposed to the atmospheric disturbances from the Pacific Ocean, and as bisected by the Philippine Fault Line, is more at risk to extreme natural hazards than an average Philippine island. By looking at the interplay between the resistance/vulnerability of these churches on one hand, and the natural hazards threatening these churches on the other hand, this paper proffers mitigating recommendations to the primary stakeholders with the purview of increasing the resilience of these same churches. The data on the resistance/vulnerability of the said churches were gathered through rapid survey, while the data on natural hazards were gathered through existing hazard maps and web applications. The methodology laid out by this paper can be a useful initial step for the conservation of heritage structures in developing societies. Sa Katoliko Romanong Diyosesis ng Maasin sa isla ng Leyte sa Pilipinas, kasalukuyang may pitong Pilipino-Espanyol na simbahang gawa sa bato, mortar, at kahoy na halos isa hanggang apat na siglo nang umiiral. Ang Isla ng Leyte ay tahanan ng 22 na aktibo at dormanteng bulkan na nakalantad sa mga atmosperikong alburuto mula sa Karagatang Pasipiko at nahahati pa sa ilalim ng fault line ng Pilipinas. Ilan lamang sa dahilan kung bakit maituturing na risk sa matitinding likas na panganib kumpara sa karaniwang isla sa Pilipinas. Kapag titingnan ang pagkikipagtalaban ng resistance/bulnerabilidad, kaakibat ang mga likas na inaasahang panganib (natural hazards) ng mga simbahan, mahalaga para sa papel na ito na magbigay ng mga rekomendasyon sa mga pangunahing stakeholder na makakabawas ng masamang epekto datapwat magpapalawak pa ng katatagan ng mga natukoy na simbahan. Sa pamamagitan ng rapid survey, kinalap ang mga datos hinggil sa resistance/bulnerabilidad ng mga simbahan, samantalang nilikom ang datos sa mga likas na inaasahang panganib sa pamamagitan ng mga umiiral na hazard maps at web applications. Maaaring maging kapaki-pakinabang ang metodolohiyang ginamit ng papel upang magsilbing inisyal na hakbang sa konserbasyon ng mga estrukturang pamana sa mga umuunlad pa lamang na lipunan.

Natural hazards affecting cultural heritage: assessment of flood and landslide risk for the 28 existing Norwegian stave churches

“…Although CRS program still sees resistance between central and local governments, the researchers have found that "non-structural" methods, such as those measured by the CRS rating, were more than twice as effective as "structural" measures in DRR. Looking at the number of churches investigated in each study, interestingly, for flooding risk assessment often from 7 to 30 churches locations are compared (Ortiz et al, 2016;Moreno et al, 2022;Loreto et al, 2021). For landslide, only Pascale et al in 2013 assess a risk prone area with more than one church, while all the other reviewed studies remain focused on a single church.…”

“…Over the last 12 years, research addressing flood risk assessment, specifically on churches, has been focused on the study of hazard, vulnerability and risk over scenarios with different return periods ranging from 10 to 1,000 years (Moreno et al ., 2022; Figueiredo et al ., 2021; Loreto et al ., 2021; Previtali et al ., 2018, MICHE Project), on the reconstruction of past periods using mapping or datasets (Ortiz et al ., 2016) and on the comparison of years in the past when extreme events occurred (Previtali et al ., 2018; Cuca, 2020). Similarly, this has been done for landslides, although for this hazard is more common to have building structural monitoring performed in continuous or sporadic geotechnical or laser scanner surveys at support of a risk assessment over an extended time (Cambiaggi and Berardi, 2019; Indirli et al ., 2011; Cigna et al ., 2013).…”

“…The literature review shows clearly that the research community is well aligned in terms of research-driven policy framework, as all the works related to churches affected by flooding quote the EU FD, several the Sendai DRR framework, while few the INSPIRE directive (Moreno et al ., 2022; Cuca, 2020). Recent EU and National projects who have driven research on Flood risk assessment and management are: the EU-FP6 Cultural Heritage Protection against Flooding (CHEF), the Risk and Vulnerability in Cultural Heritage (RIVUPH) project funded by Andalusian Government (Ortiz et al ., 2016), the EU Risk Indicators for the Analysis of Cultural heritage under Threat project (RIACT) (Figueiredo et al ., 2021), the Italian MICHE – mitigating the impact of natural hazards on cultural heritage sites, structures and artefacts project for the city of Florence, the NOAH web application program with historical/real time natural hazards and weather events in the Philippines (Loreto et al ., 2021) and the National Flood Insurance program for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) high-risk ranking zone in USA (Paille et al ., 2016). Interestingly, few works quote the involvement of local municipalities as driving factors in planning research (Previtali et al ., 2018 and Indirli et al ., 2011 in case of landslide hazard).…”

“…Similarly, very few studies exist on the consequences of damages on cultural heritage. A good example here is the MICHE project which maps the loss of value, while other studies (Figueiredo et al ., 2021; Loreto et al ., 2021; Previtali et al ., 2018) report as it is of fundamental importance (although not always done) to conduct repetitive surveys (before/after events, or repetitive over time), collect data (e.g. on age, materials, histories of degradation, alteration, improvements), assess hazard susceptivity on material and/or technique to be able to convert all in relative value indices assessment.…”

A Diachronic Analysis of the Façades of the Filipino-Spanish Churches of the Diocese of Maasin in the Context of the Slave Raids from the South | Isang Diyakronikong Pagsusuri ng mga Facade ng Pilipino-Espanyol na Simbahan sa Diyosesis ng Maasin sa Konteksto ng mga Pagsalakay ng Alipin mula sa Timog

“…The same seven Filipino-Churches were also studied by Loreto, Fernandez, Liwanag, and Demeterio, in their 2021 article "Disaster Risks of the Seven Filipino-Spanish Churches of the Diocese of Maasin, Philippines." They focused on the multiple natural disaster risks faced, vulnerabilities carried by these same heritage structures, as well as on laying down possible ways to mitigate such vulnerabilities (Loreto et al 2021). Demeterio, Fernandez, Liwanag's book serve as the jumping board of this present paper, as this present paper looked more closely on the former's initial hunch about the possible correlation between façade styles and waxing and waning of slave raids from the South.…”