MANILA, Philippines — It is unlikely that soil liquefaction caused the tilting of Emilio Aguinaldo College building in Manila following a magnitude 6.1 quake that struck Luzon last Monday, Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology chief Renato Solidum said Saturday.
"Wala kaming na-receive na report na bumitak 'yung kalsada, may lumabas na tubig... ‘yun po 'yung sense ng liquefaction," Solidum told DZMM radio.
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(We didn't receive any reports that roads cracked or that water emerged... that's the sense of liquefaction.)
"Baka ang isyu diyan ay 'yung foundation. Dapat tingnang mabuti gaano ba kalalim 'yung paa nito, at ano ba ang design ng kaniyang basement para ma-prevent ang ganyang pangyayari lalong-lalo na kung may malakas na lindol kasi liquefaction-prone ang lugar na 'yun," he added.
(Perhaps the issue is in the building's foundation. The depth of the foundation must be examined, as well as the design of the basement to prevent that incident especially if there is a strong earthquake because that area is liquefaction-prone.)
In 2015, Phivolc’s Kathleen Papiona explained that “liquefaction is a phenomenon when loosely consolidated sediments soil deposits lost their strength and appeared to flow as fluids.”
She added that the phenomenon is triggered by strong ground shaking and is commonly observed near rivers, bays and other bodies of water since it occurs in water-saturated soils.
EAC, seen leaning towards its adjacent building after the quake that jolted some parts of Luzon, lies along San Marcelino Street corner United Nations Avenue. It is around 25.6 kilometers away from Manila Bay, according to Google maps.
Greg Serrano, engineer and president of Gresser Contractors and Builders Inc., commissioned by the EAC to inspect its building said his initial observation is that the tilting of the school structure was probably due to the “closeness” of the establishments in the area. — Ian Nicolas Cigaral with reports from Rosette Adel