Should ‘The Big One’ earthquake strike, most of the casualties will likely be informal settler families, Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Sec. Jonvic Remulla said Thursday, October 16.
The Big One earthquake is a projected magnitude 7.2 earthquake that could strike Metro Manila. Seismologists predict that the earthquake, stemming from the West Valley Fault, could happen within the next few decades.
Should it happen, Remulla believed that informal settlers will be hard hit.
‘If we do have the big one, most of the casualties will come from [informal settler families] because they use – none of their buildings are constructed with the municipal permits, and they cook with kerosine and with other non-regulated cooking implements, and that is the major cause of fires,’ Remulla said at the DILG’s budget hearing at the Senate.
Remulla also said most city buildings will likely hold up, as they follow the National Building Code. But it it is the building codes for municipalities that need to be updated.
What’s next. DILG Undersecretary Marlo Iringan, meanwhile, said an infrastructure audit will be piloted in Metro Manila, Calabarzon and Central Luzon.
For the audit, local government units will partner with the Association of Structural Engineers and the Philippine Institute for Civil Engineers, Iringan said.
Local governments may also tap schools and colleges with civil engineering students to help with the audit, he added.
Public anxiety. Fears of the Big One striking the National Capital Region sparked after a magnitude 6.9 quake hit Cebu in September, killing 79 people and injuring 559 others. The earthquake brought down houses and damaged vital infrastructure.
A week later, a magnitude 7.4 earthquake was recorded off the coast of Davao Oriental.The quake was felt in several areas in Mindanao and Visayas.
The Davao quake killed eight people and injured 176 others.