Phivolcs, OCD urge public to take quake drills seriously
OFFICIALS yesterday called for reinforcement of structures in Metro Manila as they said the country is not fully ready for a magnitude 7.2 from the West Valley Fault System , or Marikina Fault.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) and the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) made the call following last Friday’s magnitude 7.7 quake in Myanmar which has so far claimed at least 1,700 lives.
“First and foremost we have to make sure that our buildings, our houses are earthquake resilient,” said Bacolcol, as he cited concerns about “infrastructure vulnerability” during strong quakes.
“Some older building, roads, bridges, critical infrastructures may not be earthquake resistant. So we have to retrofit and reinforce these buildings, especially the old ones,” he said.
Bacolcol said the country is “ripe for the Big One” which he said may lead to the death of 33,000 people due to collapsed structures, and 18,000 deaths by fire. Some 160,000 persons will be severely injured based on projections, he added.
The West Valley Fault is one of two major segments in the Valley Fault System, the other one being the East Valley Fault. The West Valley Fault runs through the cities of Marikina, Quezon City, Pasig, Taguig and Muntinlupa in Metro Manila.
Bacolcol said 13 percent of residential buildings in Metro Manila will either collapse or sustain heavy damage in the Big One scenario if these are not reinforced.
Bacolcol also said 11 percent of 10 to 30-story commercial buildings and 2 percent of 30 to 60-story commercial buildings are expected to suffer the same fate.
“First and foremost, we have to make sure that our buildings, our houses are earthquake resilient. Meaning, we have to follow the minimum requirement under the Building Code to ensure that our houses are earthquake resilient,” said Bacolcol.
2-LEVEL RESPONSE
Ariel Nepomuceno, administrator of the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) and executive director of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), said “engineering solutions” are among preparations for the Big One.
“That is the area where we have a lot of work to do,” he said, referring to efforts to ensure residential buildings and key infrastructures like schools and hospitals are strong enough to withstand the Big One.
Asked how ready the government is for a quake similar to that in Myanmar, Nepomuceno said, “We can’t give pleasant answer to that. We have a lot of catching up to do.”
Nepomuceno said they have a two-level response to Big One, including the engineering solutions which he said is the first level.
“Let us give focus to the level one (preparation) given the incident in Myanmar. There should be retrofitting of schools buildings, and critical structures like health centers,” he said.
“The LGUs (local government units) have their engineers. These (structures) should be reinforced. Let us retrofit the schools,” he added.
The second level preparation, he said, includes the duck, cover and hold response, which is being practiced in quarterly earthquake drills throughout the country.
Nepomuceno said people should take the earthquake drills seriously, noting that the duck, cover and hold strategy will protect them from falling debris during the shaking.
Nevertheless, he said, perfecting the duck, cover and hold scheme might be useless if the structures people are staying in are not strong.
“Even if we perfect the level two preparation, the duck, cover and hold, if the structures you are in are weak, you are going to trapped or buried inside,” he said.
He said the government personnel, including troops from the Armed Forces, are ready to react or respond to such disasters.
“We have more than 20,000 personnel who are ready to respond,” said Nepomuceno, adding that response teams also include personnel from the PNP, Coast Guard, Bureau of Fire Protection and LGUs.
INTERVAL
Bacolcol said the country is ripe for the Big One, saying: “The West Valley Fault recurrence interval is between 400 to 600 years. Every 400 to 600 years, based on our carbon-14 dating (also known as radiocarbon dating) that we did.”
“We hope it won’t happen but we’ve been telling the public, we’re ripe for the Big One,” Bacolcol said, referring to the possible major movement of the fault system.
He said the last major movement of the West Valley Fault System was in 1658. He said there have been movements but these are rare and minor.
“If we take the lower limit of 400 years, that would be 1658 + 400 years, that would be 2058. So of course, that is not going to be exact, that it will happen by 2058. It could be earlier or it could be later,” said Bacolcol.
“Now if it’s later, say if it would happen in the 600-year upper limit, the 600-year upper limit would be 200 years from now … But again, we are already in the range. That’s one of the reasons we’re saying that we’re ripe for the Big One,” he added.
Asked on readiness, Bacolcol said, “We cannot be 100 percent prepared. But I would say we’re more aware now than 20 to 30 years ago.”
Bacolcol said the quarterly earthquake drills conducted by the NDRRMC has successfully educated the public about the potential risk associated with the Big One.
“People are now more aware than 20 or 30 years ago… We have to take it seriously, we have to take this drills seriously, follow the follow duck, cover and hold drills,” said Bacolcol.
Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero called for “regular inspections” on the country’s infrastructures to determine their structural integrity.
On the part of the Senate, Escudero said, there are three bills which seek to repeal and update Presidential Decree 1092 or the Building Code of the Philippines.
Escudero has also filed Senate Bill No. 289 which seeks to strengthen the National Building Code by requiring building officials of LGUs to conduct a comprehensive inspection of all buildings nationwide and to issue certificates of inspection and clearance that these structures conform with PD 1092. – With Raymond Africa
