PHIVOLCS QUAKE MONITORING DEVICE IN OLONGAPO
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) installed in this city a ‘Strong Motion Accelerograph’, a type of seismograph that can monitor and record even the slightest tremor or earth movement.
PHIVOLCS Director Renato Solidum, Jr. and Olongapo Mayor James “Bong” Gordon Jr. signed the memorandum of agreement on the installation of the equipment at the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO).
The accelerograph will record the seismic activity of the ground around Olongapo and will also facilitate the transmission of information to PHIVOLCS to further improve the hazard maps of the city and implement in-depth engineering designs.
“Hindi mape-predict ng present technology ang earthquakes, pero kaya nating mabawasan ang epekto nito sa pamamagitan ng ibayong paghahanda,” Mayor Gordon said.
“Makakatulong din ang instrumentong ito sa engineers natin para madisenyo nang maayos at matatag sa lindol ang buildings na itatayo in the future,” the city chief executive stressed as he recalled the devastating killer earthquake that hit Japan a year ago that left massive death and destruction.
Volcanoes and fault lines seem like a ticking time bomb of the Pacific Ring of Fire, where the Philippines belongs, making the country susceptible to earthquakes and possibilities of tsunami.
The Pacific Ring of Fire (or just The Ring of Fire) is an area where large numbers of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur in the basin of the Pacific Ocean. Shaped like a 40,000 km (25,000 mi) horseshoe, it is associated with a nearly continuous series of oceanic trenches, volcanic arcs, and volcanic belts and/or plate movements.
The Ring of Fire has 452 volcanoes and is home to over 75% of the world’s active and dormant volcanoes. It is sometimes called the circum-Pacific belt or the circum-Pacific seismic belt.
“May commitment ang city government ng Olongapo sa public safety at paghahanda sa mga sakuna, kaya pino-propose ng PHIVOLCS na magkaroon ng Community Based Early Tsunami Warning Device System sa Subic Bay Area, dahil nakaharap ito sa Manila Trench sa West Phillippines Sea na posibleng magdulot ng tidal waves after ng earthquake,” Director Solidum said.
