IOM Community Center & Evacuation Center – Guiuan

In 2014, a year after a most powerful 315 kph typhoon Haiyan ( locally known as Yolanda) made landfall in Guiuan Eastern Samar in the Philippines, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) embarked on a program to build resilient facilities that provided for community protection during evacuation in times of disaster and subsequent recovery. These buildings are right-sized for the community population by selecting from two models, namely a 1,500 m² or a 750 m² built-up area. During normal times that do not require the building’s use as an evacuation center, its use is mainly as a community center for the locality

This project in Guiuan was IOM’s first Community Center & Evacuation Center designed together with RNFA. It is a 750 m² two-storey reinforced concrete structure with structural steel roof framing. The building was designed to withstand winds of 320 kph and earthquake resistance to meet seismic zone 4. Water storage was also incorporated in the facility as part of provisioning for recovery and rehabilitation. Many of the concepts adopted in the design of this facility were taken from the lessons learned in post-disaster studies of typhoon Haiyan.

On April 19, 2016, IOM’s completed Community Center & Evacuation Center was turned over to the Guiuan municipal government and to the community at large in a handover ceremony.

PROJECT FACTS