Government agencies to check structures near fault lines

MANILA, Philippines — Government agencies are set to check on buildings and other infrastructure built near fault lines to see if they could withstand a major earthquake, an official declared.

The Office of Civil Defense, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) and the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) would perform an inventory on the said structures “by next week,” according to MMDA Acting Chairman Romando Artes.

Earlier reports said the West Valley Fault – which traverses Bulacan to Quezon City, Marikina, Makati, Pasig, Taguig, Muntinlupa and parts of Laguna and Cavite – could generate a magnitude 7.2 earthquake that could kill up to 34,000 people and injure up to 100,000 others due to collapsed structures.

Phivolcs said the fault line could be “ripe for movement” or a strong tremor.

“Before the fault line was determined, existing infrastructure was already there with buildings erected nearby. Although I understand they followed the building code which says these buildings need to withstand an 8.4-magnitude earthquake,” Artes said in a mix of Filipino and English in an interview over dzRH yesterday.

He also said the MMDA plans to resume its “shake drill” in July, after it was suspended due to government restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Artes explained that the agency has prepared “Operation Metro Yakal Plus,” which divided Metro Manila into four quadrants and has designated open spaces in the said quadrants where people could evacuate in the event of a destructive earthquake.

He called on the public to join the massive quake drill so they would be trained to instill earthquake survival as “second nature.”

Last Thursday, the MMDA revealed its plan to build its Disaster Preparedness Training Center in Carmona, Cavite where leaders in disaster response in Metro Manila would be given training, particularly on rescue of persons trapped in collapsed buildings.

The said facility – which would feature a rappelling tower, confined space structure, wrecked building with structure rubble pile and pancake collapsed structure – is expected to open before the year ends, the agency said.

“We will provide them with two-week trainor’s training using our existing equipment, such as life locators and vibrascopes, among others, so we can produce more rescuers that can extend immediate disaster response assistance to nearby areas should an earthquake occur,” Artes said.