Phivolcs to scatter 100 quake intensity meters all over PH
MANILA, Philippines—The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) will place 100 earthquake intensity meters all over the country starting this year to enable it to take more precise and faster readings of earthquakes
According to Phivolcs Director Renato Solidum Jr., the P2-million project funded partly by the Japan International Cooperation Agency would enable seismologists to issue faster landslide and tsunami alerts, and save lives in the event of a big earthquake.
A huge number of the seismic sensors—about 40—will be placed in Metro Manila and nearby provinces, highly populated areas surrounded by fault lines, Solidum said.
The rest of the intensity meters will be scattered throughout the regions.
Solidum said the target was to install 40 meters this year, 30 next year and 30 more in the succeeding years. “This is a big project,” he said.
The seismic meters—a box equipped with a small monitor and data communication capabilities—will be installed in various buildings. They will be attached to the main post in the first or second floor of the chosen buildings to measure the structure’s sway during an earthquake.
When there is a tremor, Solidum said the sensors will automatically calculate the intensity of the earthquake and transmit the data to the Phivolcs database.
A fast and accurate way of measuring the intensity of a quake is vital in reducing fatalities and property damage in the event of a big disaster, Phivolcs officials said.
Ishmael Narag, officer in charge of the Phivolcs’ seismology division, said the sensors, which cost P85,000 each, would enable Phivolcs to get a more definitive description of the intensity of quake.
In places where there are no sensors or Phivolcs observatories, scientists currently have to rely on descriptions of the quake’s effects to estimate tremor’s intensity. This can be inaccurate as people’s observations are “subjective,” Narag said.
By getting more accurate data, Solidum said, Phivolcs could issue faster warnings to at-risk communities and hopefully save lives and properties.
More sensors would give the agency a better picture of where and when a landslide or a tsunami could happen, information that needs to be passed on quickly to the local governments and disaster councils.
“There would be better understanding on when to call for an evacuation, for instance,” Solidum said.
After the massive Japan earthquake and devastating tsunami, Phivolcs warned that the Philippines should prepare for powerful earthquakes.
Metro Manila, for instance, is at risk of a big tremor from the West Valley Fault on the west and the Manila Trench in the east.
The fault line, which runs from the Sierra Madre mountain range through eastern Metro Manila to Southern Tagalog, could move at anytime and generate a 7.2-magnitude earthquake, Phivolcs said.
