PARTNERSHIP. Pampanga Governor Dennis Pineda (left) and Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology Director Teresito Bacolcol sign a memorandum of agreement on Monday (May 22, 2023) in a bid to strengthen the province's disaster resiliency efforts. As agreed upon, Phivolcs will provide free training on Rapid Earthquake Damage Assessment System to the provincial, municipal and city disaster and management councils. (Photo courtesy of the Pampanga PIO)
CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga – The provincial government here and the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) have partnered to strengthen disaster resiliency efforts.
Angelina Blanco, chief of the Pampanga Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO), said on Tuesday the partnership agreement was signed Monday that would allow the provincial government to use the Phivolcs’ Rapid Earthquake Damage Assessment System (REDAS) and Earthquake Intensity Meter put up at the Provincial Command and Control Center in Barangay Sindalan here.
“Sa pamamagitan ng earthquake intensity meter, agad nang malalaman ng mga geologist sa probinsya ang lakas o lawak ng isang earthquake kapag tinamaan ng sakuna ang Pampanga (Through the earthquake intensity meter, the geologists in the province will immediately know the intensity and magnitude of an earthquake once Pampanga hits by disaster),” she said in a regional television interview.
Blanco said the Phivolcs will also provide free training on REDAS to the provincial, municipal and city disaster and management councils.
The REDAS is a software developed by Phivolcs in 2002 under the Grants-In-Aid of the Department of Science and Technology. The software can simulate earthquake hazards such as ground shaking, liquefaction, landslides, and tsunami.
With the support of Phivolcs, Blanco said the PDRRMO has already installed four early warning systems in Arayat town following reports of landslides in the mountain.
She also said that a survey has been conducted for the debris barriers at Mount Arayat.
The Department of Public Works and Highways, upon the request of Governor Dennis Pineda, has allotted more than PHP100 million for an engineering intervention to ensure the safety of the residents living near Mount Arayat from landslides. (PNA)
