Metro Manila residents and nearby provinces should prepare for the “Big One,” the West Valley Fault is now ripe for movement and it can generate a 7.2 magnitude earthquake.
After the magnitude 6.7 earthquake in Surigao that put the province in great devastation, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) appealed to residents of Metro Manila and nearby provinces to be ready anytime for a powerful earthquake that could claim thousands of lives.
“Everyone must learn from the recent effects of the magnitude 6.7 earthquake in Surigao del Norte. If a similar event happens in a highly urbanized area, the effects can be more devastating,” Phivolcs Director Renato Solidum warned.
State seismologists have fervently warned the public that the West Valley Fault is ripe for movement!
Roughly every 400 years, the West Valley Fault moves generating a huge tremor like the major earthquake happened 357 years ago, Solidum said. In August 20, 1658, a major earthquake with intensity 6 killed hundreds of people devastating the areas along the West Valley Fault from Sta. Cruz, Manila to the nearby provinces of South Luzon.
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.
A 2004 study funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for Phivolcs and the MMDA showed that the magnitude 7.2 quake could leave 34,000 people dead and 100,000 injured as the building collapses.
Solidum explained that the movement of the Philippine Fault in Surigao has no effect or whatsoever to trigger the movement of the West
Valley fault.
Valley fault.
To give you a view of "The Big One" Watch this video from GMA News
Phivolcs continued monitoring the aftershocks from the magnitude 6.7 quake that hit Surigao last Friday night, leaving at least eight people dead and hundreds injured. Over 150 aftershocks is on record, according to PHIVOLCS. Some tremors reach 4.1 magnitude in Surigao and recorded magnitude 3 in the city.
Eastern Mindanao, including Surigao del Norte, is one of the earthquake prone areas in the country because of the Philippine Fault and Philippine Trench.
Source: Philstar.com
Latest Update: A magnitude 5.4 was felt today, April 4, 2017 at around 8:58 PM in various places with a wide stretch from Manila to Cavite and Batangas areas.
Latest Update: A magnitude 5.4 was felt today, April 4, 2017 at around 8:58 PM in various places with a wide stretch from Manila to Cavite and Batangas areas.
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