CALAMITIES: For the Philippines, 2020 kicked off with a big bang. And a deadly cough. Taal Volcano, just 80km from Manila, erupted on January 12, 2020, shutting down airports and crushing the economy of nearby communities on the Luzon island. On February 2, 2020, the coronavirus began its death run, claiming a life in Manila — its first outside China (400,000 infected as of November 10, 2020, with 7,661 deaths). The Philippines, too, is an earthquake-prone country, with quakes recorded each day, though most are not felt. Phivolcs records an average of 20 earthquakes a day and 100 to 150 earthquakes are felt per year. But every calamity is a challenge to build back better.
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