THE Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) expressed strong reservation about the planned ‘Tsunami Hill’ in the island barangay of Pugaro in Dagupan City when it was initially presented Thursday by the mayor’s office.

However, Vice Mayor Belen Fernandez, SP chair, clarified that the council is not against the project but that more details need to be defined to ensure that the structure will serve its purpose.

“Not that we are against the project but we want to make sure that the Tsunami Hill will not collapse because if it will, thousands of people crowding at the top could get killed instead,” she said.

Fernandez was surprised to learn that the City Risk Reduction Management Council (CDRRMC), that the project’s specifications will only be four meters in height and 90 meters in diameter, which would cover 6,361 square meters.

Councilor Karlos Reyna, a civil engineer, estimated that the P6 million being asked by the CDRRMC will cover only the backfilling of the structure and therefore considered the request as unstudied.

Architect Jojit de Vera of the City Planning Office said the tsunami structure will have a mat foundation two meters below with reinforced walling.

But its middle portion, he said, will be comprised of dredged materials, such as sand and silt, to be recovered from the shallow rivers.

Noting that the Tsunami Hill will be built 300 meters from the shore, Fernandez thought it would not make sense to make the residents of Pugaro to run towards the sea to climb the Tsunami Hill, instead of running away from the sea.

City Administrator Vladimir Mata told the SP Thursday that the project is being set up in Barangay Pugaro owing to its isolation from mainland Dagupan.

He said the Tsunami Hill would serve as an initial refuge of residents in the event of an 8.2 magnitude earthquake that could trigger a tsunami.

“This is an initial response mechanism in the event it will occur very, very fast,” he added.

De Vera said a bio-shield will be put up parallel longitudinally across the barangay to cushion the impact of water hitting the village.

The bio-shield involves the planting of mangroves and palms, one behind the others in three towns, to prevent the occurrence of erosion.

Reyna, however, expressed doubt on the stability of the dredge materials to be put in the interior section of the Tsunami Hill which, he added, will be prone to seepage.

The city council will ask CDCRRMC to submit the detailed structural plan since only a blueprint of the aerial plan showing the location of the Tsunami Hill was presented.

WARNING STATIONS

Mata also outlined a program prepared by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) for the setting up a tsunami relay station in Bolinao and an early warning station in Dagupan.

He said in the event of an earthquake emanating from the Manila Trench, the relay station will send a signal to EW station in Dagupan to forewarn the people of the coming of tsunami.

LEAD TIME

Philvolcs estimates that it would take from 30 to 40 minutes lead time before the tsunami hits land.

Mata said that a 30 to 40 minute lead time would be enough to evacuate the city residents to higher structures in the city.

Asked by Fernandez if they have also planned for other citizens of Dagupan living in the coastal areas like Bonuan Gueset, Bonuan Binloc and Bonuan Boquig, Mata said they are looking at the Mac Adore building and the tall buildings of local universities as possible evacuation centers in the event of a tsunami.

He said that an 8.2 magnitude earthquake can generate seven meters high of tsunami that could reach six kilometers inland, which is up to the town of Calasiao.

The SP will seek the opinion of the Geo-Sciences Bureau whether the soil of Barangay Pugaro can hold a 6,631 square meter man-made hill with a height of four meters.

The vice mayor reiterated the invitation of the SP to Philvolcs officials to further clarify the threat issues from tsunami bared by Mata since it could unduly alarm not only the population of the city and other coastal areas of Pangasinan but the investors as well.

An investor is now preparing for the groundbreaking of its multi-million dollar project in Lingayen close to the sea and an international shipping port is now being built in Sual, both of which could be severely affected if a tsunami occurs.

Councilor Alvin Coquia said the huge budget that would be spent for the Tsunami hill could instead be used to buy boats that the residents can use to reach the mainland before tsunami hits land

These boats can be used by the fisherfolk in the absence of an emergency, he said.

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