Northern Cebu officials learn about typhoons, earthquakes

LOCAL officials in northern Cebu familiarized themselves with the hazards brought by typhoons and earthquakes under Project Noah.

The Noah’s Ark project, which aims to build disaster-resilient communities in the country, held a “training of trainers” activity at the Cityscape Hotel in Subangdaku, Mandaue City.

The training is headed by the Corporate Network Disaster Response in cooperation with the Cebu Provincial Government, PruLike UK, Prudence Foundation, Smart Communications and Petron.

Familiarization with the hydro-meteorological and seismologic hazards highlighted the first day of the four-day training.

Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration officer-in-charge Alfredo Quiblat Jr. said tropical cyclone occurrence in the Philippines is inactive this year.

Quiblat said the country will experience fewer than 18 tropical cyclones this year because El Niño is likely to be felt by June to August. But it doesn’t mean that local government units should be complacent, he said.

He said there is no assurance that the 18 typhoons will not be strong.

In his lecture on hydro-meteorological hazards, Quiblat urged local communities to guard against the hazards associated with thunderstorms, which include thunder and lightning, heavy rainfall, winds, hail and tornado.

On cyclones, Quiblat said there are three classifications, namely, tropical depression, tropical storm and typhoon.

A tropical depression brings winds of 64 kms. per hour (kph) while tropical storm has a wind of 64 to 117 kph.

Typhoon generates wind of more than 117 kph.

Tropical cyclones bring excessive rain, flood, landslides and storm surge.

Quiblat said the components for a successful early warning system are technology, communication system, local leadership, and public and response protocols.

“If one of these will fail, it would mean a failure of the whole system,” he said.

In behalf of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology Director Renato Solidum, Dr. Cedric Daep, head of Albay Public Safety and Emergency Management Office, gave a lecture on earthquake hazards.

Daep said the geographic and geologic setting of the Philippines make it prone to typhoons, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions and earthquakes.

Last Oct.15, Bohol, Cebu and the neighboring Provinces experienced a 7.2 magnitude earthquake.

Daep said there are two types of earthquakes, namely, tectonic and volcanic.

Earthquake hazards include ground shaking, ground rupture, liquefaction, tsunami, landslides and fire.

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