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Thursday, May 20, 2004
Phivolcs recorded 14 aftershocks in Nabunturan
By Ben O. Tesiorna
DAVAO CITY -- The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) has so far recorded 15 aftershocks, as of Wednesday, in the Nabunturan fault line since the May 16 earthquake that shook most of Mindanao with a magnitude of 6.1 in the Richter scale.
But Ferdinand Taglucop, Phivolcs analyst, said the occurrence of aftershocks after a main tremor is natural and should not be a source of worry for many residents residing in the area.
Taglucop said of the 15 aftershocks, only six were felt by residents in Nabunturan; the rests were merely monitored when these registered in the institute's seismograph.
About 100 families from Barangays Mainit and Bukal in Nabunturan fled their homes Monday night after text messages circulated that a volcano will erupt in the area as a result of Sunday's strong earthquake.
Taglucop said the perceived volcano in Nabunturan, Mt. Angelo, is nothing but a six-foot mound that is growing as a result of the hot springs in the area.
He said the source of heat from the hot springs in the two barangays are not from the magma usually found in volcanoes but from the fault lines that are present in Nabunturan.
Taglucop said Nabunturan lies along the Philippine fault zone, which runs from Northern Luzon down to Pujada Bay in Mati, Davao Oriental.
He said the only known volcano in Compostela Valley is found in Maco and not in Nabunturan.
Asked on the threat of the Nabunturan faultline to the gold-rich mountain of Diwalwal in Monkayo, Taglucop said that just like in all other areas in the country they classify Diwalwal as "prone to intensity 8 earthquake."
It was learned that the elevation of an area is relative to the impact of an earthquake. Taglucop admitted the more elevated an area, the more an earthquake is felt.
He said that aside from elevation there are other factors that would affect the earthquake's impact, such as presence of a strong bedrock formation in the area.
Office of the Civil Defense 11 chief Carmelito Lupo meanwhile said that as part of their disaster emergency program, they had already conducted disaster management training in Diwalwal last January "to minimize the risks during disasters," such as earthquake.
Lupo said they will also be conducting information drive in Nabunturan to educate residents about earthquakes. He said this is to prevent another round of panic in the area simply due to ignorance. |
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