In line with efforts to prepare for the possible movement of
the West Valley Fault, which could trigger a massive earthquake, the Armed
Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Saturday announced that it is constantly
training and developing the disaster response skills of its personnel.
Lt. Col. Harold Cabunoc, AFP public affairs office chief,
said that this is to ensure that military personnel will be capable of
performing efficiently in disaster and calamity situations.
Just recently, the Joint Task Force-National Capital Region
(JTF-NCR) had its Earthquake and Landslide Search and Rescue Orientation Course
(ELSAROC) to ensure that the AFP will be able to respond to communities around Camp Aguinaldo ,
Quezon City
Cabunoc said the AFP is also preparing its troops for flood
incidents and other calamities.
"Last May, our officers and enlisted personnel
underwent Flood Incident and Response Training (FIRST), Emergency Response
Training (ERT) and Incident Command System (ICS) Training," he added.
The JTF-NCR also has an existing HADR Plan “Sagip Tulong 2,”
an implementation plan to operational plan “TULONG-BAYANIHAN” & contingency
plan “PAGYANIG” to assure the public that AFP will be at the ready when
calamity strikes around the General Headquarters in Camp General Emilio
Aguinaldo.
Deemed as the first responders for the whole metropolitan,
it was important that zero casualty is aimed among the residents and personnel
in Camp Aguinaldo
The National Disaster Risk Reduction & Management
Council (NDRRMC) formally announced the kick-off of National Disaster
Consciousness Month last June 29.
In observance of the event, all personnel of AFP in Camp
General Emilio Aguinaldo joined the camp-wide earthquake drill.
On July 30, the AFP will join the metro-wide earthquake
drill managed by Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA).
These activities were also in line with the observance of
National Disaster Consciousness Month of July which kicked off June 29.
Being situated in the "Pacific Ring of Fire,” between
two tectonic plates (Eurasian and Pacific), Philippines
According to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and
Seismology, since 1968, the country has already been hit numerous times by
catastrophic earthquakes with a magnitude of more than 6.0.
The strongest recorded earthquakes that struck the Philippines since 1968 occurred in 1976 in Moro
Gulf and in 1990 in Panay with a magnitude of
7.9 which resulted to millions of losses and destruction.
Because of its geographical location, several active
earthquake generators surround the region, making it one of the most
hazard-prone countries in the world.
It is bisected longitudinally by the Philippine Fault which
has several subsidiaries. One of which is the Valley Fault System (VFS) which
run across the Greater Metro Manila Area (GMMA).
The Marikina Valley Fault, now known as the Valley Fault
System (VFS), is thought to pose the greatest threat in the area because of its
close proximity.
It contains two major segments, the West Valley Fault (WVF)
and the East Valley Fault (EVF). WVF is approximately 100-km-long and runs
through the areas of Quezon City, Marikina City, Pasig City, Makati City,
Taguig City, Muntinlupa City, and the provinces of Bulacan (Doña Remedios
Trinidad, Norzagaray, and San Jose Del Monte City), Rizal (Rodriguez), Laguna
(San Pedro City, Biñan City, Sta. Rosa City, Cabuyao City, and Calamba City),
and Cavite (Carmona, General Mariano Alvarez and Silang).
In the past 1,400 years, WVF has generated four major
movements with an average interval of 200 to 400 years. The last recorded
movement of the valley fault system was in 1658.
Because of this, another major movement is highly projected.
The anticipated earthquake, which has been labeled as “The Big One,” can
produce a magnitude of 7.2 that may result to a very destructive ground
shaking, with intensity VIII on PHIVOLCS Earthquake Intensity Scale (PEIS), in
Metropolitan Manila and nearby provinces.
This could put over 11 million lives and properties at risk.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=779282
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