Quake tool in North

DAGUPAN CITY, Philippines – The mayor here has signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) for the deployment of a new earthquake developing tool recently acquired from Japan to help evaluate ground shaking and movements after an earthquake.

Mayor Belen Fernandez signed the MOA with Phivolcs Science Research Specialist Melchor Lasala after he introduced this instrument during a technical conference held at the city’s Public Alert and Response Monitoring Center on Oct. 24, a report from the City Information Office said.

This sophisticated gadget called intensity meter will be used to identify perceived movements or shaking during or after an earthquake. The meters are connected to a computer with access to the Internet and all information gathered will be sent to a server for data evaluation.    – Eva Visperas

These meters that record the latest ground movements in the area will make information on earthquakes accessible on the Internet.

To keep track on earthquakes happening in the country, Phivolcs regularly posts information in their earthquake information/bulletin which can be found in their website at www.phivolcs.dost.gov.ph. These include information on magnitude, location and intensity of the earthquake.

The city was devastated by a powerful 7.8 surface-wave magnitude earthquake on July 16, 1990.

Lasala said that with the intensity meter, the effect of the ground shaking recorded will be immediately known. Dagupan City, surrounded by bodies of water, is prone to intense ground shaking.

The data gathered by the meters will help disaster management offices in planning for their next possible action after the calamity, said Lasala.

To date, Phivolcs has deployed 50 of these meters in different parts of the country, mostly in Metro Manila, which Phivolcs is closely monitoring.