Building construction in the Philippines

(Major problems caused by its Geological Location)

By: Stephen Joy A. Mamparo
The geological location of a project contributes to the aspects you must consider on building
construction, it dictates on what kind of environment the building would stand and what possible
catastrophes may occur. The Philippines is a tropical region, is in front of the Pacific Ocean, and is in the
pacific rim of fire therefore it is expected to have extreme weather and expected calamities.
Being a tropical region, Philippines has only two seasons (rainy and sunny), meaning that the
project must be ready on the possible extremities of this kind of climate (el-Nio and la-Nina). El-Nio, the
long term dry season on an area, it may be destructive to buildings due to its effects on the soil. La-Nina,
the extreme and long term rains on an area, it would soften the soil and could cause buildings to collapse.
The Philippines is in from of the Pacific Ocean, therefore it is prone to tropical typhoons,
according to state weather bureau PAGASA, The Philippines is visited by at least 20 tropical cyclones
every year, among these tropical cyclones, 10 will be typhoons, with 5 having the potential to be
destructive ones.
The Philippines is a part of the pacific rim of fire, according to PHIVOLCS there are 23 known
active volcanoes in the Philippines and about 2000 earthquakes every year, most of them are weak, but
about 12% are felt and about 5 or 6 are very strong with damages.
The Philippines has a very harsh environment due to its geological location, it being in the tropical
region, Pacific Ocean and Pacific Rim of fire. The building in this type of environment must have strong
foundations, higher resistance and capacity for these circumstances (el-Nio and la-Nina, typhoons,
earthquakes, volcano eruptions). Although there are no buildings that are 100% resistant for those
circumstances, but the building must be strong enough to lessen its effects.