Eastern Visayas
Typhoon frontline region still recovering from 2013 Haiyan devastation while coconut decline removes agricultural income from chronically exposed territory.
Eastern Visayas faces the Pacific—the region most exposed to typhoons that cross from the ocean, most devastated by Super Typhoon Haiyan in 2013, and most challenged by chronic vulnerability that geography imposes. The reconstruction from Haiyan demonstrated both international humanitarian response capacity and the limits of building back better in hazard-exposed locations.
Leyte and Samar, the region's largest islands, support agricultural economies oriented toward coconut, rice, and abaca. The coconut industry's decline has removed income that alternative livelihoods have not replaced. Fishing provides protein and employment for coastal communities, though stock depletion and climate-driven changes affect catches.
Tacloban City, devastated by Haiyan's storm surge, has rebuilt as regional center. The reconstruction brought international attention, aid flows, and infrastructure investment that might not otherwise have materialized. Yet the fundamental vulnerability remains—Tacloban's coastal position ensures future storms will threaten again.
By 2026, expect continued chronic typhoon exposure, agricultural economy persisting without significant diversification, and the region demonstrating how hazard-prone territories struggle to escape vulnerability regardless of post-disaster investment. Eastern Visayas represents the challenge of development in locations where nature periodically destroys progress.