00:00Preparations for when the big one hits the mega city are twofold.
00:04First is the focus on rehabbing or retrofitting existing key infrastructure.
00:08The second deals on mitigating the toll on human lives by a constant practice of fire and earthquake drills,
00:15which the OCD is pretty confident on the people of Metro Manila's collective ability to respond after repeated earthquake drills over the years.
00:23The full story from Arad Lagusan.
00:26The Philippines needs to catch up or step up in as far as coming up with engineering solutions is concerned
00:32due to the threat posed by a magnitude 7.2 earthquake that may be triggered by movement along the West Valley Fault.
00:38According to Office of Civil Defense Administrator Undersecretary Ariel Nipomoseno, there are two levels of preparation for this.
00:44The first level of preparation is extremely important as it focuses on infrastructure,
00:49which serves as the first line of defense against a strong earthquake.
00:55In terms of infrastructure, buildings, houses, schools, hospitals,
01:01is there anything that is strong enough to withstand a magnitude 7.2 earthquake?
01:08We need to follow the safety provisions of the building code
01:14where our structures should be able to withstand a magnitude 8.5 earthquake.
01:22The second is a quarterly national simultaneous earthquake drill where the DOC cover and hold this practice.
01:28This is accompanied by training for both national and local government units as well as the private sector
01:33in terms of coordination if and when the big one actually happens.
01:38In that reaction, the government is ready.
01:41We have the ability to respond to that.
01:45If you include the people in the uniformed services,
01:49that means the armed forces of the Philippines,
01:52including the BNP, Philippine Coast Guard, Bureau of Fire and Protection, BFP,
01:57and the responders and rescuers of local government units.
02:02If you include all of that, it will not be less than 80,000 personnel in the whole country.
02:09He added that there is also a need to conduct earthquake drills at night as an earthquake may occur at night.
02:14Although the quarterly earthquake drill is in place, according to the OCD,
02:18schools are also conducting their own training.
02:20The possibility of conducting monthly earthquake drills is also being considered.
02:24According to OCD, the West Valley Fault System is just one of the 175 fault systems in the country.
02:30In addition, there are six active trenches in the Philippines, all of which could trigger a strong earthquake.
02:36Currently, there are no instruments capable of predicting earthquakes.
02:39In 2004, the Manila Earthquake Impact Reduction Study was conducted by PHEVOX, MMDA, and JICA,
02:45which estimated that over 50,000 people could become casualties in Metro Manila.
02:49Because of this, the OCD is working with JICA to update the data,
02:53especially since the population has grown significantly since then,
02:57and a structural integrity audit will also be necessary.
