The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) will conduct more “Big One” seminars in Eastern Visayas to help people in the region understand earthquakes.
After holding the seminar in Samar, Eastern Samar, and Northern Samar provinces last year, it will conduct the same in Leyte, Southern Leyte, and Biliran this year, DOST assistant regional director Marilyn Radam said.
“The provinces in Samar Island were the first to host these seminars since there were several recorded movements in the Pacific Trench surrounding the island in previous years. The plan is to bring this seminar to all provinces since we have the Central Leyte Fault, making the region a high-risk area for earthquakes,” she said in an interview Wednesday.
The Leyte Island fault line is part of the 1,200-km-long Philippine fault zone, a major tectonic feature that transects the whole Philippine archipelago from northwestern Luzon to southeastern Mindanao.
Earlier, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs), an attached agency of DOST, warned of a possible strong earthquake in central Leyte, as the Philippine Fault in the province never had significant shaking in more than 100 years.
The “Big One” seminar, with speakers from Phivolcs, includes a comprehensive discussion aimed at equipping all stakeholders with an understanding of earthquakes, their impacts, and the possible destruction.
Radam said that as part of its disaster preparedness drive, they held a “Walk the Fault” activity in different areas in Leyte last year to educate communities on earthquake hazards and preparedness, particularly in areas along the Leyte segment of the Philippine Fault.
Recently, Eastern Visayas has experienced series of earthquakes. The latest plotted was a magnitude 4.4 tremor that struck Hernani, Eastern Samar, on early March 26.
The strongest so far this year was the magnitude 5.8 quake on Jan. 23 that struck the town of San Francisco, Southern Leyte. The ground shaking injured five people and damaged more than 200 houses.
These seismic events have raised concerns about the region’s vulnerability to larger, more destructive earthquakes, according to Radam. (PNA)
