In 2014, I was based in Manila and assigned to document recovery efforts by UN-Habitat in the typhoon-affected areas around Tacloban. For months, I conducted interviews with locals who were forced to live in temporary shelters while they waited for official word of where and when they’d be allowed to rebuild their homes.
Rebuilding after a disaster is a crucial period when communities have the opportunity to reinforce their shelters and prepare for future risk. But in many cases, without sufficient funds, skills and experience, self-recovery methods often turn towards ‘building back worse’. The UN-Habitat worked alongside partner organizations and the City of Tacloban to develop a Recovery and Rehabilitation Plan that a proposed spatial development of Tacloban in order to address emergency, recovery, and long term rehabilitation needs.