Active Faults & Other

Earthquake Source Zones

Mariton V. Bornas
Geology & Geophysics R&D Division
Philippine Institute of Volcanology & Seismology

ACTIVE FAULTS

WHAT IS A FAULT?
FAULT: a fracture, fissure, or a zone of
weakness where ground movement or
displacement has occurred or may
occur again.
FAULTING is the cause of TECTONIC EARTHQUAKES.
3 types of faults are called NORMAL, THRUST or
REVERSE and STRIKE-SLIP.

TYPES OF FAULT

NORMAL FAULT
BEFORE FAULTING

REVERSE
STRIKE-SLIP

Normal Fault

Thrust or Reverse Fault

Thrust fault of the 1999 Chichi Earthquake, Taiwan

Thrust fault of the 1999 Chichi Earthquake, Taiwan

Strike-slip Fault

Nojima Fault of the 1995 Hanshin-Awaji (Kobe) Earthquake, Japan

Left-laterally displaced pilapils (rice paddy dikes) in Imugan, Nueva Vizcaya

along the Digdig Fault rupture of the 1990 Northern Luzon Earthquake.

Mole tracks defining the Digdig Fault rupture after

the 1990 Northern Luzon Earthquake.

Aerial view of the San Andreas Fault

System, the most famous strike-slip
fault in the world. The San Andreas
Fault marks the boundary between
the Pacific Sea Plate and the North
American Plate

WHAT IS AN ACTIVE FAULT?

A fault is defined as an ACTIVE FAULT
when it has moved within the last
10,000 years (Holocene Period).
BASES OF MOVEMENT:
1. historical and contemporary seismicity (earthquake
activity)
2. fault slip (displacement) based on displaced rock or
soil units of known age (paleoseismology)
3. displaced landforms (active fault geomorphology)

Philippine seismicity
from 1600s to present

Active Faults &

Trenches

DOST

PHIVOLCS

Active Strike-slip Fault Geomorphology

Smith & Wesson, 1975)

B:
C:
D:
E:
F:
G:

Triangular facet
Fault sarplet
Sag pond
Pressure ridge
Fault saddle
Graben

H:
I:
J:
K:
L:
M:

Offset stream
Shutter ridge
Beheaded stream
Wind gap
Offset piedmont line
Offset alluvial terrace

sagpond
bench

rupture
0
9
9
1
lt
u
Digdig Fa

Ga
bal
don

Fa
ult

offset streams

Pressure ridges

Sample airphoto interpretation of the Gabaldon Fault, Dingalan, Aurora

WHAT IS AN EARTHQUAKE
A weak to violent
shaking of the
ground produced
by the sudden
movement of rock
materials below
the earths surface
(FAULTING).

Two Earthquake Descriptions:

1. Intensity

2. Magnitude

based on relative ground

shaking effect to people
and structures; generally
higher near the epicenter
(Reported in Roman
Numerals e.g. I, II..IV..IX)

based on instrumentally
derived data; measure of the
amount of total energy
released at the earthquakes
point of origin
(Reported in Arabic numerals
e.g. 3.5, 7.2, etc)

ACTIVE FAULTS & OTHER

EARTHQUAKE
GENERATORS OF THE
PHILIPPINES

Most
Destructive
Earthquakes in
the Philippines

Recent Destructive Earthquakes

1968 Casiguran Ms 7.3

1973 Ragay Gulf Ms 7.0
1976 Moro Gulf Ms 7.9
1983 Laoag Ms 6.5

1990 Luzon Ms 7.8

1990 Bohol Ms 6.8
1990 Panay Ms 7.1
1994 Mindoro Ms 7.1
2002 Sultan Kudarat Ms 6.8
2003 Masbate Ms 6.2

Earthquake
Generators in
the Philippines

Earthquake Generators in the Philippines

ACTIVE FAULTS IN THE PHILIPPINES

PHILIPPINE FAULT ZONE:
1,300 km-long fault system that stretches N-S
from Ilocos to eastern Mindanao
Left-laeral strike-slip
Average slip rate: 1.5 to 3.6 cms/year
M7.8 July 16, 1990 Luzon Earthquake along
the Digdig Fault segment, the M7.3 March 17,
1970 Ragay Gulf Earthquake, and the M6.2
February 15, 2003 Masbate Earthquake

ACTIVE FAULTS IN THE PHILIPPINES

VALLEY FAULT SYSTEM (VFS):
Originally the Marikina Fault, a pair of
segmented faults that forms the Marikina
River Valley and transects the eastern
margins of Metro Manila
Consists of the West Valley Fault (WVF)
and the East Valley Fault (EVF)
Right-lateral strike-slip fault.

Trenches as Earthquake Generators

PHILIPPINE SUBDUCTION ZONES

The Philippine Trench
Zone where the Philippine Sea Plate (PSP) subducts beneath the
Philippine Mobile Belt (PMB) between offshore Bicol Peninsula and
southeast Mindanao. Convergence between the PSP and the PMB
occurs at the rate of 8 cms/year
East Luzon Trough
Zone where the PSP subducts beneath the PMB offshore of
northeastern Luzon.
The Manila Trench
Zone where the South China Sea Plate (SCSP) subducts beneath the
PMB between Taiwan and Mindoro.

PHILIPPINE SUBDUCTION ZONES

Negros Trench
Zone where the Sulu Sea Plate (SSP) subducts beneath the PMB
offshore of Panay and Negros Island.
Sulu Trench
Zone where the SSP subducts beneath the PMB offshore of
Zamboanga Peninsula and Sulu Archipelago.
Cotabato Trench
Zone where the Celebes Sea Plate subducts beneath the PMB
offshore of the Cotabato and Saranggani Provinces.

Metro Manila
and the
VALLEY
FAULT
SYSTEM (VFS)

Surface Geology of Metro Manila

East Valley Fault

West Valley Fault

Manila Bay

West Valley Fault

Source: HIGP, Univ. Hawaii

Worst-case
Scenario
The Worst
Case
Earthquakes
Metro
Scenariofor
Earthquakes
Manila

West
Valley
Fault

Manila
Trench

Model
08 West
Valley
Fault
13
Manila
Trench

M
7.
2
7.
9

Characteristi
cs
Severe
Damage
Tsunami

THANK YOU FOR YOUR

ATTENTION