The Foundations of Resilience: A Story of Calubian’s Museum

CALUBIAN, LEYTE — The third district of Leyte, nestled in the northwest tip, has faced consecutive challenges:  the devastation from Typhoon Opong and powerful earthquakes whose epicenter lay just 18 miles from nearby Villaba. This region, historically vulnerable due to its low-lying, coastal geography, sits directly on a very active fault line that traverses the province.

In the aftermath of these calamities, which included infrastructure damage estimated at 36.5 million pesos in Calubian alone, leading to a state of calamity declaration, officials and community leaders realized that recovery must be rooted in science and long-term planning.  The focus shifted toward not only repairing the roads and facilities but also understanding the very ground beneath their feet.

The town of Calubian, just across the water from Biliran, became a focal point for this scientific effort.  Geologists had long recognized the area’s intense geological activity; the ground is always moving, but thankfully, this constant movement helps prevent the build-up of massive pressure that leads to deadly earthquakes.  This constant geological energy has also forged an extensive system of unique caves.

This rich geological landscape sparked an ambitious idea:  to transform these scientific truths into public knowledge.

The official overseeing the planning, immersed in efforts to implement science-based disaster preparedness, explained the concept.

“So actually, the plan we have is to have a natural history museum in Calubian because it has very unique geological features,”  Board Member Kathryn Kabigting said.

“This museum was conceived as more than just a tourist attraction; it was intended to be a vital tool for building awareness among the common people about their own highly active area\,” Kabigting explains.

Scientific investigation had already laid the groundwork: The National Research Commission of the Philippines had extensively studied the cave system of Calubian, discovering different new species and documenting the intricate formations of stalactites and stalagmites.

The plan was to integrate these scientific findings into a cohesive tourism plan for the caves.  The natural history museum would be strategically placed near the caves, specifically, only the caves deemed safe and suitable for tourism, but with rigorous care to ensure its construction would not affect the delicate ecological balance of the cave system.

This museum, while celebrating the stunning natural beauty and scientific wonder of the area, would serve as a constant reminder that in the third district, decisions must always be science-based and numbers-based.  It would visually teach visitors about the risks of liquefaction, the importance of nature-based solutions like mangroves (to mitigate tsunami impact) and bamboo (to prevent landslides), and how to live safely alongside one of the nation’s most active fault lines.