GATCHALIAN CALLS ON LGUS TO ENSURE PREPAREDNESS FOR THE ‘BIG ONE’ AFTER MYANMAR, THAILAND QUAKES

SENATOR Sherwin Gatchalian on Wednesday urged local government units (LGUs) to bolster their disaster preparedness efforts, warning that the recent earthquake that struck Myanmar and Thailand should serve as a wake-up call for the Philippines.

“We cannot afford complacency in preparing for the ‘Big One,’ especially since the Philippines lies within the Pacific Ring of Fire,” he said in a statement.

Gatchalian said local government units (LGUs) must be fully empowered and equipped to respond immediately and appropriately to calamities such as an earthquake.

He said as frontliners, LGUs should designate areas of evacuation, and must have well-trained emergency response teams with rescue and medical capabilities on standby at all times, ready to act at a moment’s notice.

“Importante na may kakayahan, mga gamit, at pondo ang mga LGU para rumesponde sa mga kalamidad. Hindi lang ito responsibilidad ng gobyerno–tayo mismo ay dapat handa at may alam para agad tayong makakilos sa panahon ng pangangailangan, the senator said.

Meanwhile, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) in a press briefing on Wednesday said that over 21,000 assessed public buildings need retrofitting, in preparation for the “Big One” or a massive earthquake.

The “Big One” is a movement of the West Valley fault that could generate a magnitude 7.2 earthquake.

DPWH Undersecretary Maria Catalina Cabral said the DPWH has completed the assessment of over 124 public buildings in Metro Manila alone.

She added that there is a partnership between the DPWH and the World Bank for the retrofitting of 425 public buildings to make sure “they are aligned with international earthquake standards.”

“Mayroon na rin kaming natapos na retrofitting. Ang ibig lang sabihin ng retrofitting ay iakyat ang kaniyang standard para sa international earthquake standards,” she said.

Cabral also said that the DPWH has also provided technical assistance to the Department of Transportation (DOTr) to assess the structural integrity of the Light Rail Transit (LRT) and the Metro Rail Transit (MRT).

According to her, the agency is ready to provide similar assistance to other agencies.

Office of Civil Defense administrator Undersecretary Ariel Nepomuceno  advised the public to visit https://hazardhunter.georisk.gov.ph/, a web application with a map interface that allows users to generate hazard assessment of their location.

HazardHunterPH, an application developed under GeoRiskPH, gives the public an idea about the areas in the Philippines that are prone to different hazards.

Nepomuceno also emphasized the need for strict compliance with the Building Code to ensure that all infrastructures can withstand a powerful earthquake.

“Unahin ko po muna iyong itatayo pa lang para malinawan natin. ‘Yung iitatayo pa lang ang dapat talaga, sundin na nito ‘yung strict provisions of the Building Code  na matatag ito, sapat para kahit gaano kalakas ang lindol hanggang 8.5 magnitude kayanin,” he said.

Over the weekend, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) warned that the “Big One” and resulting fires may cause more than 50,000 deaths and over 100,000 injured in Metro Manila and nearby areas.

The talk about the threat of the “Big One” that could affect Metro Manila because of its proximity to the West Valley Fault System circulated after the  magnitude 7.7 earthquake  that struck Myanmar that killed 2,719 people as of Tuesday morning, injured 4,521 while 441 remain missing.