ASSIGNMENT NO.

DATE: APRIL 2, 2019

NAME: RIA MAE S. LAURON
SUBJECT: EARTHQUAKE ENGINEERING (ELECTIVE 2)
SECTION: CE 401

“THE BIG ONE”

THE PHILIPPINES LIES ON THE PACIFIC RING OF FIRE, HOME OF SEVERAL

TECTONIC PLATE BOUNDARIES. THREE OF THESE TECTONIC PLATES ENCIRCLE
THE COUNTRY: THE PHILIPPINE PLATE IN THE EAST; THE EURASIAN PLATE IN THE
WEST; AND THE INDO-AUSTRALIAN PLATE IN THE SOUTH. THE EXISTENCE OF
SEVERAL FAULT LINES ACROSS THE COUNTRY IS A MANIFESTATION OF THE
MOVEMENTS OF THESE TECTONIC PLATES. GEOLOGIST DEFINES FAULT LINE AS
SLIP-UP OR CRACKS IN A VOLUME OF ROCK DUE TO ROCK-MASS MOVEMENT. A
LARGE FAULT WITHIN THE EARTH’S CRUST IS THE RESULT OF THE MOVEMENT OF
TECTONIC PLATES.
A RAPID MOVEMENT OF A FAULT LINE MAY PRODUCE POWERFUL ENERGY
THAT CAN TRIGGER A VERY STRONG EARTHQUAKE. THERE ARE FIVE ACTIVE
FAULT LINES IN THE COUNTRY, THESE ARE THE WESTERN PHILIPPINE FAULT, THE
EASTERN PHILIPPINE FAULT; THE SOUTH OF MINDANAO FAULT, THE CENTRAL
PHILIPPINE FAULT, AND THE MOST FAMOUS ONE THE MARIKINA VALLEY FAULT
OR THE WEST VALLEY FAULT.
RECENTLY, ON JULY 6 THIS YEAR, THE EASTERN PHILIPPINE FAULT HAS
MOVED THAT DEVASTATED THE PROVINCE OF LEYTE. A MAGNITUDE 6.5 JOLTED
THE CITY WHICH RESULTED IN FOUR CASUALTIES, A HUNDRED INJURED, AND A
SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF INFRASTRUCTURE WAS DESTROYED. DOST PHIVOLCS
REPORTED MORE THAN 500 AFTERSHOCKS OF WHICH 11 WERE FELT. THE
LARGEST AFTERSHOCK WAS MAGNITUDE 5.4 THAT STRUCK ORMOC CITY WHERE
SEVERAL PEOPLE WERE INJURED AND DAMAGED SOME BUILDINGS.
AFTERSHOCKS ARE EARTHQUAKES THAT GO AFTER THE LARGEST SHOCK
OF AN EARTHQUAKE SERIES AND ARE CONSIDERED SMALLER THAN THE MAIN
SHOCK WITHIN 1-2 RUPTURE LENGTHS DISTANCE FROM THE MAIN SHOCK.
AFTERSHOCKS CAN CONTINUE OVER A PERIOD OF WEEKS, MONTHS, OR YEARS.
IN BROAD-SPECTRUM, QUAKES WILL COME UNEXPECTEDLY SHOCK AFTER
SHOCK.
THE PHILIPPINES HAS BEEN EXPERIENCING ALL SORTS OF NATURAL
DISASTERS ALL YEAR ROUND. SEVERE HEAT WAVES, STRONG TYPHOONS,
TSUNAMIS, VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS, AND RECENTLY SEVERAL EARTHQUAKES. IN
2016 ALONE, THERE WERE 216 EARTHQUAKES RECORDED. AND THESE NATURAL
EVENTS HAPPEN BECAUSE OF THE COUNTRY’S GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION.
TAKE THE EDGE OFF DISASTER IMAGINATION IS FORESEEING WHAT MIGHT
HAPPEN BEFORE IT HAPPENS. THIS IS NOT JUST PURE IMAGINATION, BUT A LARGE
CHUNK OF IT IS GUIDED BY SCIENCE, ENGINEERING, AND EXPERIENCE.
PREDICTING WHAT COULD POSSIBLY OCCUR WILL DEFINITELY HELP THE PEOPLE
ADDRESS FUTURE PROBLEMS THAT THEY MIGHT ENCOUNTER DURING THE
ACTUAL DISASTER. THIS IS NOT ONLY TRUE FOR EARTHQUAKES BUT ALSO FOR
OTHER LARGE-SCALE NATURAL DISASTERS.
THE AMOUNT OF PREPARATION NEEDED MUST BE AT PAR OR BEYOND
WITH THE DEGREE OF SEVERITY OF THE DISASTER. ONE CANNOT FALL SHORT ON
PREPARATION ESPECIALLY IF SURVIVAL IS AT STAKE. THE DEPARTMENT OF
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY- PHILIPPINE INSTITUTE OF VOLCANOLOGY AND
SEISMOLOGY DEVELOPED A 12-POINT SELF- EVALUATION QUESTIONNAIRE TO
ASSESS THE SAFETY OF ONE’S HOUSE. THIS WOULD HELP THE PEOPLE TO KNOW
WELL THEIR PLACE AND ITS HAZARDS AND UNDERSTAND THE IMPACT OF THE
DISASTER IN THEIR AREA. THIS INCLUDES THE CASUALTIES AND DAMAGE TO
PROPERTY.
ASIDE FROM INDIVIDUAL PREPARATION, BEING IN THE SAME MINDSET IS
MOST VITAL THAT IS WHY SYNCHRONIZATION IN THE LOCAL AND NATIONAL
LEVEL IN TERMS OF EMPLOYING DISASTER RISK REDUCTION PLANS MUST BE
ENSURED. ALTHOUGH IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO REDUCE THE RISK DOWN TO ZERO,
NEVERTHELESS, IF WE MANAGE TO MATCH THE LEVEL OF PREPAREDNESS TO THE
SCALE OF THE DISASTER, IT WOULD RESULT A QUICK RELIEF RESPONSE AND
RECOVERY FROM THE EVENT.