Blessed Fate: The Study on how Heritage Churches resist natural calamities

Abstract

Heritage structures are known to be resilient structures in terms of their structural stability. These buildings proved their strength throughout their existence. However, some heritage structures lead to undesirable fate due to some uncontrollable factors such as natural calamities.The Philippines is known to be one of the countries that are prone to natural disasters. From typhoon, earthquake, flash floods, volcano eruptions, and other natural disasters. Every calamity that passes through the country leaves some damages, especially to infrastructures.As part of the colorful history of the Philippines, its thousands of islands have become home to various heritage sites and structures left by different invaders and foreign influences. These structures were built in traditional construction methods without the help of technology and survived for centuries.Various research strategies were used to show how these some Century-old churches of the Philippines were able to withstand and endure different calamities. This research shows some possible reasons behind the structural stability and integrity of these historic churches, and how these faced natural disasters and remain to stand. Findings for the study includes its History, Structural Components, Architectural Features and Building Materials. These factors have shown differences between the traditional and modern construction method which partly proved its contribution to the stability of these structures.