Description of the attraction
The lighthouse on Batag Island is a historical landmark located off the coast of Laoang in the Northern Samar province. The lighthouse marks the northeastern tip of Samar Island and serves as an invaluable guiding star for ships sailing from the Pacific Ocean across the San Bernardino Strait, one of the country's busiest shipping lanes, to Manila and other Philippine ports. This lighthouse is one of three large lighthouses entirely designed and built by the Americans at the very beginning of the American domination of the Philippines. The other two are the Maniguin Island Lighthouse and the Bolinao Cape Lighthouse. The Batagsky lighthouse is a complete copy of the lighthouse at Cape Bolinao: both are 30.8 meters high and are equipped with the same lighting devices. In 2008, the Batag Island lighthouse and the Kapul Island lighthouse were declared a national treasure of the Northern Samar province.
Construction of the lighthouse began in 1906 - first a temporary pier was built to bring materials here. As mentioned above, American engineers took the Cape Bolinao lighthouse, built a year earlier, as a model. The structure had a cylindrical shape made of reinforced concrete; a house for the caretaker was erected next to it. The design was notable for its simplicity - only cornices, a door, a window and a balcony with railings in the light chamber brightened up the uniformity of the architecture. The height of the lighthouse, located on the Kulipapa hill, was 30 meters from the base to the focal plane. Since typhoons are not uncommon in these places, the Americans designed the lighthouse in such a way that it withstands gusts of wind at speeds of up to 120 km per hour. The construction of the lighthouse was completed in 1908. An interesting detail - the most modern lighting equipment for those times was installed at the lighthouse, the flashes were visible at a distance of up to 40 km.
In the early 2000s, a new solar-powered tower was installed next to the old lighthouse building. However, already in 2006, during the powerful typhoon Milenio, the modern lighthouse collapsed, plunging part of the coast into darkness for the first time in a century. Unfortunately, the building of the old lighthouse has fallen into decay and has long been in a depressing state.
