“Is it our fault?”

The Valley Fault System has been a trending topic recently. Why not? The fault threatens Metro Manila for a possibly 7.2 magnitude earthquake, and this may happen within our lifetime!

As explained by Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) in several news, the West Valley Fault is known to generate big quakes every 400 to 600 years. The last major quake happened in 1658, meaning another one can happen as soon as 43 years from now!

But, what’s all the fuss about the Valley Fault System?

VFS is dominantly a fault in Luzon that moves in a clockwise circular course strike-slip motion that is capable to produce large scale earthquakes on its active phases. It contains two major segments known as West Valley Fault (WVF) and East Valley Fault (EVF). The west segment runs through the cities of Marikina, Quezon City, Makati, Pasig, Taguig and Muntinlupa as well as municipalities of Bulacan (Dona Remedios Trinidad, Norzagaray, San Jose Del Monte), Laguna (San Pedro, Binan, Sta. Rosa, Cabuyao, Calamba) and Cavite (Carmona, General Mariano Alvarez, Silang). The affected areas in east segment are Rodriguez and San Mateo.

Cities and towns traversed by the valley fault system may experience the most damage from a 7.2 magnitude earthquake. CLICK HERE  to download the files from PHIVOLCS’ The Valley Fault System Atlas launched last May 18, 2015 or visit this PHIVOLCS website. Find out where you are located.  Get prepared if your house or building is within or near the fault’s 5-meter bufferzone.

Oh, and kindly check where TGT is!

With all this talk about the Valley Fault System going on, we got to be prepared for the ‘BIG ONE’. We have been conducting earthquake drills corporate-wide in previous years as part of our readiness to unexpected big earthquakes. Take all opportunities to learn more tips from the drills that you can also share with your family members. Take our earthquake drills seriously, and be ready for any scenario. Following are some iconX links for additional readings:

TGT Earthquake Emergency Drill  

Know what to do in an Emergency

Take part in our safety and emergency preparedness campaign coming out soon this month of June!

Be #GlobeReady

/sources

http://philnews.ph/2013/10/17/west-valley-fault-earthquake-threatens-metro-manila-video/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marikina Valley_Fault_System

Read more about Benette here in one of our ICONtributor feature stories "The Scientific Adventurer and the Online Shoppaholic"

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