On Oct. 15, 2013, a 7.2-magnitude earthquake, the “equivalent to 32 Hiroshima atomic bombs,” hit Bohol and Cebu, killing close to 200 people, toppling buildings, trees and utility posts, and reducing houses and churches to rubble.
On Nov. 8, 2013, Supertyphoon “Yolanda,” packing 250 kilometer-per-hour winds and whipping up 20-foot-high storm surges, flattened houses and buildings, swept people and animals, uprooted trees and felled utility posts, causing cataclysmic death and destruction. In the wake of Yolanda, roads remained unpassable, blocked by debris from razed houses, fallen trees and utility posts, preventing the delivery of relief packs and items to survivors—for days. As of last count, the death toll from “the strongest typhoon to hit land” has topped 6,000.
Soon after the Bohol earthquake, the Inquirer ran an editorial titled “Fair warning” (10/18/13). With the devastation in Bohol in mind, it raised the question of whether Metro Manila, a city of some 10 million people, is prepared for a major earthquake. Then it cited studies suggesting that an earthquake of similar magnitude in Metro Manila would be catastrophic and could kill thousands of people, injure hundreds of thousands more, and cause P2.4-trillion damage to property.
One study warned that the most likely culprit behind such tragedy is the West Marikina Valley Fault, which “sits uncomfortably close to heavily populated and well-developed places in the metro. In Quezon City, the Ateneo de Manila campus as well as the Eastwood City commercial area are within a mere two kilometers of the fault line, which also cuts through the Loyola Grand Villa Subdivision before running southward into Barangay Barangka in Marikina City. In Pasig, it sits cheek by jowl with the posh villages of Greenmeadows and Valle Verde,” the editorial said.
At no time in the past has the need to prepare for and protect our cities and towns from disasters been seen with greater urgency. And, to be sure, there are obvious and doable measures within the power of city and municipal officials to institute for the purpose. Like building disaster-resilient/resistant houses and wider roads. And laying utility systems, like drainage and electricity, underground. Wider roads with pedestrian lanes will allow emergency vehicles to pass and can serve as evacuation areas in our crowded metropolis. Drainage systems will help contain floods. Underground utility wires will prevent fires and minimize vulnerability to power outages. Besides, these measures provide us an opportunity to modernize our cities and municipalities.
It’s high time the huge pork barrel fund and the millions of pesos at the disposal of mayors and councilors were put to good use.
—GONZALO B. MISA,
former barangay chair,
Barangay Blue Ridge A, Quezon City,