The Iloilo Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (PDRRMC) is proposing a walk-the-fault activity at the West Panay Fault to come up with appropriate preparations for possible earthquakes.
PDRRM Office head Cornelio Salinas said the West Panay Fault is a magnitude 8-triggering fault line, historically shown by the famous Lady Caycay that struck Panay in 1948.
The PDRRMC, he said, has endorsed a resolution to the provincial board for the walk-the-fault initiative, which was referred to the regional DRRM council.
“All (concerned) government agencies will walk-the-fault line from Aklan, Capiz, Iloilo and Antique to determine the extent of the West Panay Fault,” he said in a media interview.
He said the recent magnitude 7.8 quake in Mindanao even caused roads to fold and collapse, so it is recommended that projects, both horizontal and vertical, should not be implemented along the fault line.
Another triggering fault is the Negros Trench, facing Iloilo’s first district.
In addition to the walk-the-fault, Salinas recommended an inventory of the threshold of buildings to determine their capacity.
“Officials of local government units should check now the threshold of all the buildings. The target of Governor Arthur Defensor Jr. in all towns for that matter, is zero casualty,” he said.
He also expressed hope that building officials would be aggressive in enforcing the National Building Code.
“This should be a whole of society approach. There’s no instrument that can detect earthquakes. But the level of preparation starts with the individual engineer looking at the structure, looking at the construction sites,” he said.
Salinas added that the provincial government will join the national simultaneous earthquake drill on June 18 for the public to be informed and acquire muscle memory on what to do in case of an earthquake.PNA
