Residents to experience 7.2 temblor with ‘quake house’

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) will set up its mobile earthquake house to allow residents in areas near the West Valley Fault to experience a 7.2- intensity earthquake, an official said yesterday.

The mobile quake house will be brought to each of the 72 barangays that directly sit on the West Valley Fault, MMDA Chairman Francis Tolentino said during the agency’s weekly program on radio station dzBB.

He said the mobile quake house is part of the preparation for the five-hour earthquake drill that will soon be carried out in Metro Manila and neighboring areas that may be affected by strong earthquakes.

MMDA officials will also meet with officials of subdivisions and villages in the metropolis. During these meetings, the MMDA will push for the designation of earthquake safety officers who will guide residents and coordinate with disaster officials should an earthquake occur.

Tolentino said a study of Philippine Volcanology Commission showed that a 7.2-intensity earthquake may affect as far as Canlubang, Laguna in the south and Bulacan in the north.

He said a draft executive order on the metropolis-wide earthquake drill will be submitted to President Aquino for approval.

The MMDA chairman said the drill, which will be from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m, will simulate a scenario during a 7.2-intensity earthquake wherein there would be no electricity and communication lines would be down.

Part of this scenario is a massive traffic jam that will take at least five hours to untangle, he said.

Tolentino, however, clarified that the metro-wide quake drill will be carried out gradually to minimize its impact on residents. –