Stone Houses, Batanes, Philippines

According to a post I read "no one dies in a typhoon in this so called typhoon capital of the Philippines" - isn't it ironic! The ivatans observes animals such as cows and natural signs for their weather forecast and it seems it is very reliable. Their stone houses, locally called vahay, helps the ivatan's in harsh envornments. This houses have very thick walls, made up of limestone and the roof top made of cogon grass. The crime rate is batanes is low, probably because of the low population also, and surprisingly they keep their doors open even at night time especially at Ivana Municipality. You can actually see a lot of these old houses at Bro. Chavayan in Sabtang Island. Unfortunately, many of the houses are already being abandoned because some of them have been severely damaged by earthquakes. I think they should do something to help preserve this national heritage and act fast before its too late.