Frequently harassed by inundations from the river, the early residents constructed earthen dams which were subsequently washed away.

When the Spaniards arrived, they renamed Busuanga to Buruanga, or perhaps the change was purely a clerical error.

On June 15, 1949, the enactment of Republic Act 391 separated Malay from Buruanga to become an independent municipality.

[5] It was hit severely by typhoon Seniang on 9–10 December 2006, with much destruction and damage of homes and infrastructure.

It is a coastal town bounded on the north by Malay; south by Libertad, Antique; and west by the Cuyo East Pass of the Sulu Sea.

The humid north-western monsoon arrives in the area by June causing an increase in rainfall which reaches its peak in the month of August.

[22] In 2011, several researchers from the United States Peace Corps conducted various biological assessments along the Buruanga coastline.