Just be ready

AMAGNITUDE 5.9 earthquake rocked Surigao City anew yesterday at around 8:08 a.m., the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said.

Phivolcs recorded the epicenter of the earthquake 13 kilometers west of Surigao City, at a depth of 13 kilometers. The quake was felt at Intensity VI in Surigao City, Intensity IV in Limasawa and San Ricardo, Southern Leyte, Intensity III in San Juan and San Francisco, Southern Leyte and Intensity II in General Luna, Surigao del Norte and Ormoc City while an instrumental Intensity VII was recorded in Surigao City and instrumental Intensity I in Borongan, Eastern Samar and Palo, Leyte.

Although quite strong, Phivolcs said this is but an aftershock of the 6.7-magnitude earthquake that hit Surigao City last February 10 that left an almost P700 million estimated damage, killed eight people and affected 1,790 families.

As Phivolcs explained, Eastern Mindanao is one of the seismically active areas in the country because of the Philippine Fault and the Philippine Trench. The strongest quake experienced before was a magnitude 7.4 earthquake on July 1, 1879, considered as the largest historical earthquake in the area, generated by the movement of the Surigao segment of the Philippine fault.

"During this event, strong ground shaking was felt in Surigao del Norte and caused significant damage to churches, buildings and road. A surface rupture, as well as widespread liquefaction and landslides, were also documented," Phivolcs reported.

In the letter from Lake Mainit of Surigao by Jesuit Missionary Antonio Chambo to the Mission Superior on July 13, 1879 (Jesuit Missionary Letters from Mindanao, Volume V: The Surigao Mission [1990]), he wrote: "Although houses and trees fell, they caused nothing except the fright following such a natural phenomenon repeated with less strength 10 or 12 times in 24 hours. The land cracked in certain spots more than four varas and leaving deep holes, on others on vara. One of the points of the lake closest to the village has completely disappeared and where there was once a nice beach for fishing, it is now as deep as the center of the lake."

That was over a century ago when very few people lived in the area and there are no highrise buildings yet.

What we're saying here is that we are on an active zone and it may have taken more than a century for a strong earthquake to hit again, it only reminds us that there is the Philippine Fault and Philippine Trench and they are moving.

We can never emphasize enough the need to always be aware of what to do, but most of all, not to panic. It's also a reminder to building officials to never ever succumb to the temptation of grease money and always insist that structures, especially the multi-storeyed ones, are earthquake-resilient. We can't afford to look back in retrospect and be filled with the could'ves and should'ves. Instead, it should always be, "We did our job well."