The government through the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) urged continuous efforts to boost preparedness for earthquakes and other disasters, reminding everyone about the “Big One” quake, which it said could hit the country at any time and potentially kill about 48,000 people in Greater Metro Manila Area.

OCD Administrator, Undersecretary Ariel Nepomuceno emphasized that the Philippines must draw lessons from the experience of Taiwan which was hit by a magnitude 7.2 earthquake on April 3, toppling several buildings, and killing nine people and injuring more than 900 persons.

It was the strongest to hit Taiwan in 25 years, since the magnitude 7.6 earthquake in 1999 which killed 2,400 and injured 10,000 individuals.

Nepomuceno remarked, “Undeniably, Taiwan’s preparedness improved a lot through the years. So much importance was put on interventions for earthquake-resistant buildings. The reported deaths and injuries caused by the recent earthquake are much lesser compared to the magnitude 7.6 earthquake that hit their country in 1999.”

“That is exactly the reason why we, in the Philippines, need to reinforce our measures, especially engineering solutions. We need to take action to minimize the possible effects of strong earthquakes, primarily, in terms of casualties,” Nepomuceno added.

The Metropolitan Manila Earthquake Impact Reduction Study (MMEIRS) conducted by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in 2004 indicated that the Big One earthquake could damage and destroy majority of Metro Manila’s houses, buildings, schools, hospitals, roads, bridges and other infrastructures as well as cut electricity supply, water supply, and internet and communication systems.

“There are a lot of things that we must do to advance our preparedness for earthquakes,” Nepomuceno stressed.

He reiterated the importance of engineering solutions and compliance with Republic Act 6541 or the National Building Code as part of earthquake preparedness and mitigation efforts.

He insisted that engineering solutions and compliance with the building code are the best preparedness measures for earthquakes, as he stressed the need to ensure that buildings and facilities are resistant to strong earthquakes.

Aside from this, the OCD is spearheading quarterly nationwide simultaneous earthquake drills (NSED) to increase the public’s awareness and level of preparedness.

📷: Scientific American