(PNA file photo by Liza T. Agoot)
BAGUIO CITY – Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Secretary Renato Solidum Jr. on Monday urged residents in the province of Abra to regularly have their homes checked for earthquake damage and be prepared for future tremors.
Solidum made the remark after two major earthquakes hit the province this year.
“We need to make the people aware of their safety because there will always be earthquakes that will be felt in Abra especially with the stress as a result of the movement of the Abra river fault last July," Solidum said during the opening of the 2022 Ugnayan sports festival of the Philippine Science High School system at the Baguio Convention Center.
Solidum, who is concurrently the chief of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs), said the magnitude 7 earthquake last July 27 affected the southern segment of the Abra river fault that caused the magnitude 6.4 earthquake last Oct. 25.
“Abra will continue to experience earthquakes, with the existing faults in the province and others nearby having been stressed as a result of the major earthquake last July although they will be weaker. Abra is a geographic location but the southern segment of the Abra river fault was stressed which caused it to move in October. It is also possible that the other nearby faults will move,” he said.
He said Abra residents must build sturdy homes to replace condemned ones.
Meanwhile, residents whose homes are sturdy enough to withstand a tremor should ensure that nothing in their homes will fall on them in case of an earthquake.
“If those two factors have been checked, then the next thing that they should do is to make sure that they know what to do in case of an earthquake,” Solidum said.
He said the public can search “how safe is my house” on the internet and answer 12 questions that come with it.
“The questions are answerable by a yes or a no. The more yes answers there are, the safer the structure is,” Solidum said. (PNA)
