By Amer R. Amor
VERA Files
After the earthquakes that hit Japan and New Zealand, volcanologists are drawing attention to the possibility a big one could hit Baguio, but the city lacks a comprehensive disaster management program and has in fact repeatedly failed to enforce environment rules that could mitigate disaster.
Baguio sits on four major fault lines: Mirador, San Vicente, Loakan and Burnham, according to a study by University of the Philippines-Baguio geology professor Dymphna Nolasco Javier. Four other earthquake generator faults surround the city: San Manuel, Tuba, Tebbo, and Digdig, which generated the destructive 1990 earthquake, the study showed.
But more than two decades since that 7.7-magnitude earthquake, the country’s summer capital remains unprepared for catastrophes. The 1990 earthquake left 305 people dead, more than a thousand people injured and thousands of houses in ruins.
This makes the city—named the country’s second most risk-prone after Marikina and the world’s seventh—a disaster waiting in the wings, officials and residents alike fear.
Please click here (VERA Files) for the rest of the story.
OFF TOPIC:
Basic idea on what is occuring inside Japan’s nuclear reactors incident:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjdgHqY2K-4&feature=player_embedded
In danger rin pala ang Marikina…wala naman segurong tsunami na mangyari…kasi hindi naman seguro tataas ang Marikina river ng ganoon ka taas…nasa Panginoon nalang tunay ang ating pag-asa…Return to Me ang sabi nga niya…
From Tessy Ang-See:
1. When we went around Benguet after the landslides from Ondoy, we saw how vulnerable the whole area is — one of the biggest culprits are the abandoned open pit mines underneath the grounds.
The vast areas of landslides, where the roads disappeared and the hills displaced elsewhere, were those with nothing underneath because they were tunnels leading to the deeper mines.
2. Drills are good but then all barangays, hospitals, schools, churches must be required to prepare basic tools: picks, shovels, rope, heavy gloves, hard hat and flashlights — that are easily accessible. The first 12 hrs are crucial and it will be to each his own — neighborhood and community help are essential in case of power and communications cut off.
Even at christchurch, we saw residents digging through debris with bare hands.Most houses in depressed neighbrohoods are made of light materials, having basic tools ready the community residents can help dig through the rubble to rescue people.
There is no urban planning in Baguio, it seems. Houses are built all over. There had been so many landslides but people keep on building on the same landslide prone areas.
Ang mga bahay diyan sa gilid ng bundok ay mga tabla,plywood at yero lang,kung ma landslide ay okey lang sa kanila, matira ang matibay. Pag malakas naman ang bagyo ay nag e-evacuate ang mga naka tira diyan at sa evacuation center.Swertihan lang kapag hindi nadaan ng landslide ang bahay nila balik uli sila at dating gawi.
Wanted: Disaster management plan.
It’s like we are asking for the moon if we would depend on our gov’t officials for such a plan.
It should be: Wanted: A Miracle!
I wast a witness when the 7.7 magnitude earthquake of 1990. The Hyatt Hotel built beside a cliff fell on it’s side. It looked like an accordion. When I was younger, whenever we visited Baguio, I can see lush of greens on mountain tops leading to the city. But now, we see patches of idle land and on some parts, residential houses, etc.
What’s worse is seeing a SM Mall in Burnharm park. It’s too commercialized already.
Tessy Ang @ 3 that is the most essential preparation that most take for granted…since we are in a snow belt area, we are always, everytime on the road or at home have the essential tools to be able to dig out and not get ourselves frozen at all time. and also Water is the most forgotten provision, that could save lives in case of flooding…or left stranded…just keep replacing it with fresh supply. and don’t forget the basic medication…
as far as i know there are enough supply of good building engineers in pinas.there are also enough building regulations that if followed will reduce hazards as well. offices that oversees the executions of these rules and regulations as well as politicians are often greedy… reforestation has been a theme in many programmes to prevent landslides but remains only in papers. for almost 40 years ago, the phil forest products research and industries development commission of the national science and development board have registered several trees that are fast to grow, among them ipil ipil which is large enough for harvesting 7 years after planting.
Kung magka landslide man ay walang ibang dapat sisihin kundi ang mga illegal loggers. Wala silang araw na hindi pumuputol ng mga kahoy.
click http://www.arvin95.blogspot.com
Naguluhan ako sa sinasabi ni Tessie Ang See na “abandoned open pit mines underneath the grounds.”
Kaya nga “open pit” kasi hinuhukay galing sa surface. Walang underground na open pit. Tinatapyas mula sa tuktok hanggang sa paanan ng bundok. Mula sa maliit na tip ng bundok, hinuhukay ng higanteng front shovel o bucket excavator, inolo-load pamamagitan ng backhoe o loader o conveyor sa dump truck na siya namang magdadala sa SAG Mill o Ball Mill para durugin ang mga rock ores. Palaki ng palaki ang hukay ng open pit hanggang tuluyang maubos ang bundok.
Ito ang pinaka-destructive na paraan ng pagmimina dahil ubos talaga ang bundok.
Rose @2: Tsunami is a giant wave cause by underwater earthquake, it has nowhere to go than the nearest shores.
“There is no urban planning in Baguio, it seems. Houses are built all over.” – psb
You gotta be kidding? All over Pinas, houses (squatters)are built/being built everywhere.
Even in America such as the Bay Area from San Jose to Santa Rosa, most of those houses are sitting on fault lines. Was that the plan?
“possibility a big one could hit Baguio, but the city lacks a comprehensive disaster management program and has in fact repeatedly failed to enforce environment rules that could mitigate disaster.”
Curious which provinces or cities have programs that could readily tackle the “big one”.
TT@11: Unsure myself where Ms See been to in Benguet to have witnessed an open pit mining. All minings in Benguet were done thru tunnels on the side; or downwards with the aid of an elevator which would then stop at certain levels (side tunnels) to drop off miners. These elevators can go down as deep as 1000ft and can carry at least 10 miners at a time.
Even private miners do the digging on the side.
“The Hyatt Hotel built beside a cliff fell on it’s side.” – mike
Hyatt was built on flat solid ground, not beside a cliff; that doomed hotel was adjacent to Camp John Hay.
The lack of steel frames coupled with the “half sand/half cement” mixtures were the direct result of it’s demise. Some contactors of course made tons of money for a half ass built hotel.
“What’s worse is seeing a SM Mall in Burnharm park. It’s too commercialized already.” – mike
There’s no SM Mall in Burnham Park; the SM Mall is way up there in Luneta Hill where the famous Pines Hotel used to be and below it is Barrio Fiesta/Vallejo Hotel (museum?).
Maybe what Ang See meant was below ground level. It will never go underground because the activity will always be above the soil.
I’ve been to Semirara’s coal mines once, it’s open pit. The hole’s too wide and too deep it’ll probably take hours for a freshly loaded dump truck to reach the surface. It will remain an empty hole or if filled with water, a big fishpond.
A few years ago, DMCI, the new owners of the mines, got a contract to use it as landfill site for Manila’s garbage – a typical use for open pit mines worldwide. The plan was botched however, since the barges that shipped the tons of garbage didn’t have covers. As usual, exaggerated over-reaction was that it would contaminate the water in Boracay (which is some 240kms away!) and the litter resulting from uncovered barges would make the resorts dirty. The economic benefits of new jobs in the area and a cleaner metropolis was set aside due to some unfounded paranoia.
Now, people in Manila will still have to live with the millions of tons of garbage produced everyday while the unemployed in Semirara and Mindoro will just gravitate to the growing slums at the resort islands. There are too many beggar-kids already in Boracay. Tsk tsk.
Re #16 – After the Hyatt tragedy, the hotel’s structural engineer (Kalalo + Asso) never got invited into a major project again.
i remember kalalo started asep,also worked for him before and after graduation but was offered a job at up-los banyos after passing the board. lakas loob si kalalo dahil bihira naman ang structual at geotechnical engineers at that time at masters lamang din ang inabot niya. sa ngayon kung basahin ko ang bio data ng mga opisyal ng institute of civil engineers ay may mga phd na rin at may program na rin sila para ma develop ang mga engineers sa bansa.
Naging bosing mo pala si Kalalo, norphil. Ang sikat ngayon dito sina Servando Aromin at Boy Sy (Aromin & Sy + Asso). Three out of the 5 tallest ang ginawa nila – PBCom Tower, GT Tower at Petron Megaplaza (isa sa tatlong yan ay gawa ko ang substation, at isa ang sa digital metering system, ehem.)
bilib ako sa yo tongue, kahit saan ka dalhin may alam ka. thanks for info.