Makati installs quake-recording instruments in 27 key areas — Binay

Makati Mayor Abby Binay FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — Accelerographs, or devices that can record earthquakes have been placed in 27 key areas in Makati City to monitor ground movement and ensure the safety of vulnerable buildings, Makati Mayor Abby Binay said on Friday.

Binay, in a statement, said the 27 public buildings where accelerographs were installed are located in earthquake-vulnerable areas, near or directly above the West Valley Fault, and in liquefaction-prone zones.

“We have prioritized our schools and facilities located in high-risk areas for the installation of accelerographs as part of continuing efforts to build our resilience to disasters,” Binay said.

“We want to ensure the safety and well-being of our Proud Makatizens, including students in our public schools and city government workers,” she added.

According to the local government unit, the 27 accelerographs were installed in the following areas:

• Makati City Hall complex (five units)
• one each at Fort Bonifacio Elementary and High School
• East Rembo Health Center
• University of Makati (five units)
• Ospital ng Makati
• Comembo Elementary School (two)
• East Rembo Elementary School (three)
• Rizal Elementary School (three)
• Bangkal Elementary School
• San Isidro National High School
• San Antonio Village Elementary School
• Maximo Estrella Elementary School
• Jose Magsaysay Elementary School

Binay also encouraged private establishments to install similar earthquake recording instruments — a requirement by the national government for buildings over 50 meters high, including high-rise buildings, both government and private-owned.

This is to prepare for possible earthquakes, noting what happened to Syria and Turkey during the Magnitude 7.8 earthquake, which left at least 51,000 individuals dead.

“The recent strong earthquake that struck Syria and Turkey should be a wake-up call to everyone. We must heed the dire warnings of experts and brace ourselves for the projected 7.5 magnitude earthquake that can occur anytime with the West Valley Fault already ripe for movement,” Binay noted.

In the Philippines, geologists and seismologists for years have urged the public to prepare for a strong earthquake stemming from the West Valley Fault — a segment of the Marikina Valley Fault System that is expected to move every 350 to 400 years.

Experts say the fault segment, which slithers through Metro Manila, particularly the eastern side cities of Marikina, Quezon City, and down Pasig, Makati, Taguig, and Muntinlupa is capable of generating earthquakes as strong as Magnitude 7 or higher.

The death toll from a strong movement along the fault system is expected to generate 52,000 deaths and over half a million injured.

READ: Magnitude 6.5 to 7.2 quake in Metro Manila could kill at least 40,000 — Phivolcs 

READ: ‘Big One’ scenario in Metro: 52,000 dead, 500,000 injured 

Makati’s LGU said that based on data from the Office of the Building Official (OBO), 144 buildings in the city have complied with the requirement to install an earthquake recording instrument (ERI).

OBO has also issued a Certificate of Structural Stability — a mandatory requirement for medium and high-rise buildings existing for over 15 years nationwide — to 94 buildings as of December 2022.

Several gadgets on the market are expected to monitor earthquakes and a building’s structural integrity, like a Filipino-made device that was the project of one of the country’s top engineering schools.

Last 2021, Usher Technologies Inc. — the company responsible for the said device — warned Filipinos not to disregard tremors in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, as the threat of earthquakes is still present. With reports from Meralyn Melitante, trainee

READ: As pandemic grips PH, Filipinos reminded to prepare for another disaster—quakes 

READ: Bad structures kill, says PH firm at launch of tech to check building safety 

JPV/abc