Councilors push training on quake assessment system
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
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BAGUIO City Council will ask the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) to provide the city a software tool on the "Rapid Earthquake Damage Assessment System (Redas)."
The body approved the resolution proposed by Councilor Isabelo Cosalan Jr. who noted that the city should be one of the first beneficiaries of the said breakthrough, being a victim of one major earthquake on July 16, 1990.
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He said the city should undergo training on the use of the Redas to continually upgrade its knowledge of the earthquake phenomenon.
Cosalan said since earthquakes are a "continuing threat to the safety of the city and its people, being near or within identified or suspected earthquake faults," Baguio should acquaint itself with the system.
The Redas aims "to provide quick and near real-time simulated earthquake hazard information to disaster managers that will help them in assessing the distribution and extent of the impacts of a strong earthquake."
"The information and training are necessary to properly equip local development planners, policy formulators, rescue and relief operations managers including private developers and contractors, relative to tremors," he said.
Cosalan, meantime, proposed an ordinance providing for the conduct of a multi-hazard mapping to pinpoint hazardous areas in the city and to enable it to come up with preventive and corrective measures to prevent loss of lives and properties during calamities.
In his proposal, Cosalan said the multi-hazard map would indicate areas prone to landslides, flood and soil subsidence, underground waterways, caverns, areas traversed by fault lines including settlements difficult to reach or respond to in case of fire and other emergencies.
He proposed the creation of a technical committee to undertake the mapping and recommend remedial measures. A P1-million outlay was also proposed for the purpose.
The measure will be discussed by the City Council soon. (Aileen Refuerzo)
