Disaster managers, land use planners learn to simulate earthquake damage

By Benilda Recebido

SORSOGON CITY, Sorsogon --- The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) conducted a training program for disaster managers and land use planners from Albay, Sorsogon, and Southern Leyte, enhancing their capacity to improve the safety of homes, offices, and other structures in these areas against earthquakes.

Forty-eight participants from disaster risk reduction and planning offices learned to use the Rapid Earthquake Damage Assessment System (REDAS), a computer software developed by Phivolcs that simulates the impact of strong earthquakes and helps assess potential damage.

Maria Leonila Bautista, an associate scientist at Phivolcs, explained that the software provides specific scenarios depicting how a city, town, or province would be impacted by varying intensities of earthquakes.

“The great thing about this system is that the data for Sorsogon is ready and customized for use. Participants need to create an exposure database,” Bautisa said.

“This means identifying where houses are located, what materials they are made of—like wood or concrete—and how many people live in each house. Once the database is finished, the software simulates potential hazards and calculates possible impacts,” she said.

Arvee Tee Lodronio, head of the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office of Juban, praised the training, stating that it was both timely and significant.

“We learned how to utilize technology, particularly mobile devices and laptops, for conducting assessments, mapping, and identifying buildings along with their structural integrity in the event of an earthquake,” Lodronio said.

“We also learned how to measure the resilience of structures and calculate the potential extent of damage, as well as the number of people who may be affected,” he added.

Those scenarios can guide city and municipal governments in issuing advisories to owners and contractors to retrofit structures built before 1992, the year the Philippine National Building Code was enacted, he said.

“It helps us establish mitigating measures to reduce disaster impacts. We can identify which residential areas are highly vulnerable in case of an earthquake and determine which structures need to be strengthened to protect communities better,” he explained.

Phivolcs, according to Bautista, plans to hold future REDAS training sessions in Sorsogon, with a particular emphasis on various hazards, including tsunamis.

She highlighted that Sorsogon has many coastal communities situated along the Philippine Trench. For instance, areas like Prieto Diaz may have only about 15 minutes to prepare before tsunami waves reach the shore, she said.

“This raises crucial questions about evacuation readiness, especially for the elderly, children, and persons with disabilities,” he added.

Bautista emphasized the significance of preparing and addressing these questions in advance.

In addition to practical training in the classroom, REDAS should also be implemented in communities to help save lives, she added. (Bertuldo Jr. Bueza contributed to this report/PIA Bicol/Sorsogon)