As Typhoon Tino threatens to batter Western Visayas, one family in Sitio Agkaningay, Barangay Bilao, Sapian town in Capiz has built a sulakob – a makeshift underground shelter – to protect themselves from the incoming storm.
Photos of the bamboo-reinforced trench were shared on the Facebook page of digital creator Dennis Ofalla Alambra, showing the unnamed family’s improvised refuge built amid banana and coconut trees. The sulakob, covered with wooden planks and a tarp, serves as a small underground bunker designed to shield them from strong winds, flying debris, and potential landslides.
In Hiligaynon, ‘sulakob’ comes from the word lakob, meaning ‘to cover’ or ‘to shield.’ Such hand-built shelters are traditional forms of protection in rural communities during intense storms or times of danger.
According to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Administration (Pagasa), Typhoon Tino (international name Kalmaegi) may get stronger as it crosses the Visayas, bringing destructive winds and heavy rains that could trigger flooding and storm surges. More than 2.3 million residents across the region have been placed under heightened alert.
In Capiz, still reeling from flash floods brought by Typhoon Ramil in October, the Sapian family’s sulakob has become a symbol of resilience and resourcefulness – a grassroots expression of survival in the face of worsening storms.