TREMOR. Employees of the Iloilo Provincial Capitol evacuate to safer grounds after an Intensity IV quake occurred early Tuesday morning (Aug. 18, 2020). The epicenter of the quake was traced in Caingan, Masbate. (Photo courtesy of Erly Garcia)
ILOILO CITY – The Office of the Civil Defense (OCD) in Western Visayas has ordered local disaster risk reduction and management councils (LDRRMCs) down to the barangay level to conduct an assessment of the structural integrity of infrastructures following the 6.6 magnitude quake that jolted portions of this region around 8:03 a.m. Tuesday.
Earthquake Information No. 1 of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) identified the epicenter of the quake to be in Cataingan, Masbate.
Instrumental intensities showed that Intensity IV was felt in this city and Roxas City in Capiz; Intensity III in Bago City, Negros Occidental; Malinao, Aklan, and Jamindan, Capiz; Intensity II in Sipalay City, Negros Occidental and Valderrama, Antique and Intensity I in Malay, Aklan.
Phivolcs also warned of aftershocks and damage.
“There is an urgent need to assess the structural integrity of various infrastructures in our area of responsibility (AOR) to ensure safety and resilience at all times,” said
Civil Defense regional director Jose Roberto Nuñez, who is also chair of the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (RDRRMC) in Western Visayas.
In his memorandum order 167, the RDRRMC chair hoped to get an initial report within the day.
He also encouraged them to update their respective contingency plans for earthquake adapting to the new normal.
In an interview, he added that the various drills in the past helped a lot in preparing the public for the earthquake.
“The 'duck, cover, and hold' is very important. We also need to guide the public, especially those coming from higher buildings,” he said.
Since earthquake drills are no longer conducted on the ground, he said they will be doing video teleconferencing and updating of the contingency plans by the various local DRRM councils.
According to the Phivolcs website, the strength of an earthquake is measured through magnitude and intensity.
Magnitude is proportional to the energy released by an earthquake at the focus while intensity is the strength of an earthquake as perceived and felt by people in a certain locality. Intensity is generally higher near the epicenter (PNA)
