MANILA -- The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) is advocating anew compliance with the National Building Code to lessen death and destruction from earthquakes.
Monday’s 6.9-magnitude quake that struck offshore, five kilometers northwest of Tayasan municipality in Negros Oriental, damaged several structures in various areas in Central and Western Visayas.
The death toll reached 22 as of Tuesday and left dozens of people still missing, according to Benito Ramos, head of the Office of Civil Defense. But officials said it will likely to rise further as rescuers struggle to reach remote areas.
The quake was also felt in the cities of Cagayan de Oro and Pagadian in Mindanao.
Following the quake, Phivolcs Director Renato Solidum said Tuesday that it is always important for structures to be built according to the building code, the Presidential Decree 1096, Series of 1977.
He urged the public to avail themselves of Phivolcs data on earthquakes and related hazards in areas where construction is planned so the information can be used in designing and building structures accordingly.
“Don’t build over an active fault,” Solidum warned.
Faults are breaks in the earth’s crust, where geologic movement can occur, causing earthquakes.
Experts already said that proper engineering design and construction will help raise structures’ capability to withstand earthquakes.
Section 1202 of the National Building Code provides that “buildings proposed for construction shall comply with all the regulations and specifications herein set forth governing quality, characteristics and properties of materials, methods of design and construction, type of occupancy and classification.”
Such provision also states that “matters relative to the structural design of all buildings and other structures not provided for in this chapter shall conform with the provisions of the National Structural Code of Buildings, as adopted and promulgated by the Board of Civil Engineering pursuant to Republic Act 544, as amended, otherwise known as the Civil Engineering Law.”
Damages to the Visayas region's roads and bridges have reached an estimated P265.75 million, the Department of Public Works and Highways Central Visayas said.
Five of eleven bridges in Negros Oriental have been impassable: the Oyangon bridge in Ayungon; Baleria, Tinayunan, P. Zamora, and Habag bridges in Guihulngan along Dumaguete North road in Negros Oriental; while sections of Dumaguete North road are also impassable due to presence of cracks, road cuts, and landslides.
In Cebu, a section of Dalaguete-Mantalongon-Badian road in KM 111 and KM 112 in the town of Badian are also impassable due to a landslide and road slips. Clearing operations are being undertaken in these areas.
The Mangoto bridge at the municipality of Pinamungahan along Toledo-Pinamungahan-Aloguinsan-Mantalongon road has suffered various cracks on the bridge deck, but is still reportedly passable.
President Benigno Aquino III will fly to Dumaguete City in Negros Occidental Wednesday to inspect areas damaged from the quake and meet with victims of the temblor, presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said.
Aquino ordered Air Force helicopters and Navy and Coast Guard vessels to come to the aid of rescuers, some of whom were digging with picks and shovels to look for survivors.
Members of the Association of Southeast Nations (Asean) may also rush aid to quake victims even as the Department of Foreign Affairs said it has yet to receive official communication on the matter.
The Asean is composed of countries including Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand, Singapore, and Vietnam.
Solidum, meanwhile, warned people to brace for more aftershocks following the onslaught of Monday’s quake. Experts define an aftershock as tremor that occurs after the main earthquake.
Phivolcs reported 1,009 aftershocks as of 3 p.m. Tuesday, adding that 60 of the aftershocks were felt. (Virgil Lopez/Jill Beltran/FP/CVB/AP/PNA/Sunnex)
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