SM Prime Holdings is expanding its network of disaster-resilient malls across the Philippines, integrating structural flood mitigation and water-recycling features to protect surrounding communities and businesses from severe typhoons.

The initiative is led by Hans T. Sy, chairman of the SM Prime executive committee and chairperson of the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) ARISE Private Sector Alliance for Disaster Resilient Societies.

Under his leadership, the company has embedded climate resilience directly into its commercial real estate developments.

To alleviate street flooding during heavy rains, several SM malls utilize underground rainwater catchment basins.

The facility at SM City Masinag is part of a nationwide network of catchment systems that can collectively hold 86,000 cubic meters of rainwater, a volume equivalent to roughly 34 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

Meantime, the company’s newest catchment system at SM City La Union advances this technology by pairing flood mitigation with water recycling.

The 760-cubic-meter system features multistage filtration and reverse osmosis technology, allowing the mall to reuse collected rainwater for its cooling towers and cleaning operations.

Other properties in the portfolio feature custom engineering tailored to high-risk local environments, such as SM City Marikina. Built in 2008, the Marikina mall is elevated on 246 concrete stilts above the area’s highest recorded flood levels.

This design allowed the structure to remain dry and serve as a community refuge in 2009 when typhoon “Ketsana,” locally known as “Ondoy,” caused catastrophic flooding across Metro Manila.

Along the coast, the SM Mall of Asia complex features a specialized seawall with a wave-return design that deflects storm surges back into the Manila Bay.

Underground drainage channels divert excess water to prevent localized flooding, and the entire complex is built above standard building code requirements to withstand both extreme weather and earthquakes.

Company officials said the infrastructure investments are part of the SM Green Movement’s disaster risk reduction pillar, which aims to safeguard tenant partners and neighboring communities in one of the world’s most disaster-prone nations.