Local execs told to submit structural assessment report for 'Big One' quake
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of the Interior and Local Government is ordering cities and municipalities to assess all establishments for the so-called “Big One” earthquake and submit their assessment reports within 90 days.
Local government units are directed to submit their structural assessment to the DILG and the Department of Public Works and Highways “as part of the effort to fortify buildings and establishments in anticipation of a massive earthquake like the Big One.”
The “Big One” is a hypothetical magnitude 7.2 earthquake on the West Valley Fault.
Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said failure to meet the 90-day deadline may not readily lead to sanctions.
But he stressed that administrative or criminal cases will be filed against non-compliant local executives in case subpar buildings collapse and cause injuries and fatalities.
The buildings should be assessed according to the standards set by the National Building Code of the Philippines and requirements of disaster resilience.
West Valley Fault
The Philippine Institute for Volcanology and Seismology has repeatedly warned the public that the West Valley Fault is ripe for movement.
The 100-kilometer fault traverses parts of Bulacan through Quezon City, Marikina, Makati, Pasig, Taguig and Muntinlupa in Metro Manila; San Pedro, Biñan, Sta. Rosa, Cabuyao and Calamba in Laguna; and Carmona, General Mariano Alvarez and Silang in Cavite.
The magnitude 7.2 tremor could kill up to 34,000 people and injure 100,000 due to collapsed buildings, a 2004 study funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency and the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority.
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