60 Metro schools, buildings vulnerable to big quake

First posted 02:22am (Mla time) May 30, 2006
By Leila B. Salaverria
Inquirer



Editor's Note: Published on page A1 of the May 30, 2006 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer


THE PHILIPPINE Orthopedic Center, PhilSports Arena (formerly ULTRA) and the Batasan Hills Elementary School are among the 60 buildings in danger of sustaining “life-threatening” damage should a major earthquake hit Metro Manila, according to the Task Force on Building Inspection of the Department of Public Works and Highways.

The task force also identified the Bicutan Interchange in Parañaque City as among the six bridges in Metro Manila that were recommended for strengthening to increase their chances of withstanding an earthquake.

It released the list of the buildings, mostly public elementary and high schools, to the media two days after a 6.3-magnitude quake in neighboring Indonesia claimed about 5,100 lives.

To minimize the loss of lives and property in the country, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo yesterday ordered civil defense officials to conduct earthquake-preparedness drills in schools, business districts and public places.

“Let us not be alarmed, but by all means let every vulnerable community be prepared to meet any contingencies whether brought forth by earthquakes, landslides, floods and other natural calamities,” the President said.

The Philippines, just like Indonesia, sits on what is commonly referred to as the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” a zone of frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions that encircles the Pacific Ocean basin.

About five quakes hit the Philippines every day, but few, if any, are felt.

A 4.0-magnitude undersea earthquake hit the Visayas early yesterday, a day after two mild quakes shook parts of the Philippines. Authorities said no damage was expected and the temblors were not related to Indonesia’s killer quake.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, or Phivolcs, said the predawn quake’s epicenter was 690 km southeast of Manila, off Bohol island.

On Sunday afternoon, a 5.3-magnitude quake struck off the country’s northernmost Babuyan Island group. Hours later, a 3.3-magnitude quake rattled Cagayan de Oro City and nearby areas. No damage was reported.

“They were weak though some people felt them. They happened separately, and were not connected to the killer quake in Indonesia,” Phivolcs chief Renato Solidum said.

LTO office, Children’s Hospital

Aside from schools, three hospital buildings, three sports complexes and the two-story Letas building of the Land Transportation Office in Quezon City were among those found to have structural problems.

The medical facilities in urgent need of detailed evaluation are the three-story main building and the three-story spinal ward of the Philippine Orthopedic Center, and the Philippine Children’s Medical Center, all in Quezon City.

Aside from the three buildings in the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City, the other damaged sports facilities were identified as the one-story Quirino Grandstand and the one-story steel-framed building in the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex, both in Manila.

The task force recommended that the buildings be evaluated immediately to determine what needed to be done to improve them.

Detailed evaluation

“Sixty buildings, (mostly school buildings) have been recommended for urgent detailed evaluation due to severity of damage that can be life threatening in case of major earthquake or any natural or manmade calamity,” Public Works Undersecretary Salvador Pleyto, head of the Task Force on Building Inspection, said in his May 19 report to Secretary Hermogenes Ebdane Jr.

Aside from the 60 buildings, 366 others needed to be evaluated, Pleyto said.

His report was based on the task force’s inspection of 1,983 buildings in Metro Manila as of the end of last month. The task force, composed of 25 teams of three people each, began its inspection of Metro Manila buildings in February.

Pleyto said the buildings whose damage could be life-threatening were those found to have cracks and weakened supports.

“One of the buildings we visited, the Batasan Hills Elementary School, had cracks in its walls, which could be very dangerous to the students when an earthquake occurs,” he said in a phone interview.

The school has four stories.

Pleyto said the inspection teams were more concerned with buildings more than one-story high because these buildings posed more risk should they topple during an earthquake.

He said inspection teams prioritized schools and hospitals because they sheltered children and the sick.

Six bridges

The task force had written building officials to inform them of the condition of the inspected structures.

The Task Force on Building Inspection was formed last year following the earthquake that devastated Pakistan. Its duty is to determine the condition of public buildings and bridges and recommend measures to improve them so that they would have a better chance of withstanding earthquakes.

“Six bridges were evaluated and rated, and chosen for seismic retrofitting, which to our opinion should be the top priority and its implementation be pursued the soonest since this would require minimal cost,” Bureau of Design director Danilo Manilang said in his Feb. 17 report to Pleyto.

The bridges are the Bicutan Interchange, the left and right Spine Bridge in Navotas town, the Alat Bridge in Caloocan City and the Sto. Niño and and Rodriguez bridges in Manila.

Cost of retrofitting the bridges was placed at P31 million.

Underpasses

The task force inspected a total of 329 road structures consisting of 251 bridges, 68 interchanges or flyovers, six underpasses and four tunnels.

Pleyto said the task force would also conduct inspections of buildings and bridges in the rest of the country.

“It is our duty to ensure that public buildings are strong enough to withstand most earthquakes and calamities,” he said.

Ms Arroyo’s chief of staff, Michael Defensor, said the President would meet with officials of the National Disaster Coordinating Council this week to assess the government’s disaster-preparedness program. With reports from Christine O. Avendaño, The Associated Press and Agence France-Presse

oh no! I go to school within that area