Qc Earthquake Preparedness Draft

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1. Background of the Study

The Philippines is susceptible to various types of natural hazards due to its geographical location and physical environment; being situated in the “Pacific Ring of Fire”, between two Tectonic plates (Eurasian and Pacific), an area encircling the Pacific Ocean where frequent earthquakes and volcanic activity result from the movements of said tectonic plates^[1]. Mindoro Earthquake and Tsunami in 1994 was the famous earthquake that hit the Philippines, it has claimed that claimed 78 lives, many of them children, on November 15, 1994.  At 3:15 a.m. on that day, a magnitude 7.1 earthquake jolted them awake, triggered by the movement of a previously unacknowledged active Aglubang River Fault.  People living in villages along the 40-kilometer northern shore of the island, from Puerto Galera to Pinamalayan, first heard a gush of water less than five minutes after the earthquake.  

According to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs), the areas hardest hit by the tsunami were Barangays Malaylay, Old Baco, Wawa and Baco islands, where waves at least six meters high smashed into the shore, destroying 1,530 houses. The tsunami left 41 people dead by drowning, most of them elderly or children below 10 years old^[2].

However, there was the one that is worrying the Philippines right now, it is the earthquake that was predicted to be the, “The Big One” that will hit the country. It will cause the Metro Manila a division of regions, it will be separated in the four which will the Metro Manila West, Metro Manila East, Metro Manila North and Metro Manila South.

Local government of Quezon City have raised its awareness of the incident. They have implemented several regulation on the city proper. Member agencies of the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (NDRRMC) formerly the NDCC, and other national government agencies, utility companies, professional organizations, and academic institutions. In support of MMEIRS, the Metro Manila Council has adopted a resolution "declaring the commitment to make Metro Manila seismically safe, and establishing the mutual aid agreement among the local government units of Metro Manila in the event of disasters." The project aimed to produce a master plan for earthquake impact reduction for Metro Manila^[3].

The study aims to have a ready to use and a responsive plan of action to accommodate the need and demands of the earthquake victims. It also aims to inform communities near fault lines about general and specific knowledge about earthquake calamities to help such communities to prepare.

1. Statement of the Problem

        The earthquake resiliency and management in the Quezon City, Philippines, as one of affected city in the Metro Manila West Valley Fault, and the division of four regions of Metro Manila Valley Fault System. It has become a challenge conducting the management into a city with a varying number of casualties that ranges into different gap of ages as the years will continue. To make it possible, the target is implementing the Earthquake Impact Reduction and Management in the scope of Quezon City. The study will be able to answer the following question:

1. Who will be the casualties of the disaster?
2. How will the project Earthquake Impact Reduction and Management be effective to the communities/casualties that will be affected in the Quezon City?
3. What are the government institutions, organizations, public and private beneficiaries that could profit in the project research?
4. What could be the possible strategies and practices of an individual of Quezon City in the Earthquake Impact Reduction? Should site an example of a specific event.
5. What are the hazards that will be occurred before and after (including the aftermath/s that will continue to have an impact) the earthquake impact?
6. Where could be the safest points and zoning system of the impact inside the scope of Quezon City?
7. How relevant is this study for the residents of the Quezon City?
8. What could be an effective earthquake proof design for housing and buildings?
9. What should be the future approach of Quezon City for the predicted earthquake (also known as the Big One) that will hit the Philippines?

1. Study Goals and Objectives:

The vision of the research study should be an output to a safer Quezon City from Earthquake Impact and give a good management of implementing the goals and objectives of the Earthquake Impact Reduction and Management. To achieve this vision, the project is listed into understanding the concept of the project:

Goal and objective A: improving and understanding of earthquake impact and processes.

• Advance understanding of earthquake phenomena and generation process.
• Advance understanding of earthquake effects on the build environment.
• Improve post-earthquake information acquisition and management.
• Advance understanding of social, behavioral, and economic factors link to implementing risk reduction and mitigation strategies in the public and private sectors.

Goal and objective B: develop cost-effective measures to reduce earthquake impacts on individuals, the built environment, and society-at-large.