Zamboanga City has 2 unmarked fault lines: Phivolcs

ZAMBOANGA CITY -- An official of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) bared that there are two fault lines here, which remain unmarked.

Engr. Allan Rommel Labayog, Phivolcs-Zamboanga science research analyst, said Thursday one of the two fault lines is located in Barangay Limpapa, and Barangay Tagasilay, 42 west and 61.65 kilometers east of City Hall, respectively.

Fault line is a break or fracture in the ground that occurs when the Earth's tectonic plates move or shift, which are areas where earthquakes are likely to occur.

Labayog suggested that the fault lines should be marked so that development can be regulated in the area.

He recommended that the local government write a formal request to the Phivolcs central office “so that they can send a geologist” to mark these fault lines.

“It’s about time that the fault lines will be marked and to define the buffer zone,” he said.

Zamboanga City, which is part of the Zamboanga Peninsula, and the provinces of Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi sit in between two active trenches--the Sulu and Cotabato trench, which are described as two major fault zones.

Fourteen buildings were partially damaged in this city during the August 17, 1976 Moro gulf earthquake.

However, this city was spared from serious damage of the tsunami triggered by the earthquake because Basilan Island and two Santa Cruz Islands served as a buffer and deflected waves. (PNA)