Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Secretary Renato Solidum on Tuesday, Oct. 28, encouraged Ilonggos to take earthquake and tsunami drills seriously to prevent the loss of lives and properties during an actual event.

In a media interview, Solidum emphasized that earthquake scenarios are prepared as part of the drills to make people aware of the possibilities and not to scare people.

“If you do not have those scenarios, you will be caught unaware, and you are not ready. The best option for us to do is to prepare because these are science-informed scenarios,” he said.

He added that before the drill, there has to be a lecture, inspection of the building and evacuation plan because it intends to determine if they know the response.

Solidum said Western Visayas, particularly Panay Island, has two major earthquake generators, the Negros Trench and the West Panay Fault.

He noted that the Negros Trench has moved in the past and generated a tsunami in southern Negros and even in Iloilo City of about two meters.

On the other hand, the West Panay Fault generated a magnitude 8.2 earthquake in 1948.

“The major hazard of an earthquake is the shaking. How strong will depend on the magnitude, the depth of the earthquake, and the distance from the epicenter,” he said.

Buildings that are very old, weakened or non-engineered, or those constructed without the benefit of approval or supervision of an architect or an engineer, are most likely to be affected severely by an earthquake, he said.

The major cause of death, he said, would be the collapse of houses and buildings due to shaking.

The ground shaking may also cause landslides or liquefaction.

“A big part of Iloilo and other parts of Panay are flood plains, so, liquefaction-prone,” he said.

There is also a possibility of a fire during and after the earthquake.

“What needs to be done is focus on mitigation and preparedness. Inspect all buildings, determine which will collapse or not, tell the people if it’s dangerous, abandon it or improve, retrofit it,” he said.

Solidum added that coastal towns should prepare for a tsunami since it already happened in the past.

“A tsunami has a force. You can tumble down. That’s why even a one to two-meter tsunami, people need to evacuate further upland,” he said.

Solidum was in Iloilo for the opening of the three-day 6th Western Visayas Health Research Conference.PNA