Dagupan gears for possible tsunami
OTHER towns may not be concerned but the Dagupan City government is not taking any chances.
Learning from the ‘Yolanda‘ experience that saw countless deaths of residents in many communities, the city government is gearing itself for the possible occurrence of a similar calamity, the city being a coastline community.
So far, the city government has initially identified 300 public and private structures that are higher than 7 meters and could be used as evacuation centers.
Mayor Belen Fernandez said the recommendation to use high-rise structures was adopted after the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said that there exists a possibility, though remote, that a big tsunami as what happened in eastern Japan may sweep Dagupan in case an 8.2 magnitude earthquake hits the Manila Trench, west of Pangasinan.
The identification of the structures were made using the Exposure Damage Module-Rapid Earthquake Damage Assessment System (EDM-REDAS) conducted by the Public Alert Response and Management Center (PARMC) headed by SPO4 Carlito Ocampo.
The structures will be further evaluated for structural stability by engineers and architects.
However, Fernandez has ordered identification of more buildings since 300 buildings as evacuations centers can only possibly accommodate 1,500 evacuees.
She said she will seek the support of the building owners once their properties are verified to be structurally strong to withstand a tsunami.
The 300 identified possible evacuation centers are located in 16 surveyed barangays, namely: Barangay II and III, Lasip Chico, Pugaro, Poblacion Oeste, Herrero-Perez, Lomboy, Bacayao Norte, Pantal, Pogo Chico, Bonuan Binloc, Pogo Grande, Barangay I, Barangay IV, Tebeng, Mayombo and Salisay.
The second round of survey said Fernandez seeks to identify more buildings and willcover barangays of Bonuan Boquig, Bonuan Gueset, Calmay, Carael, Salapingao, Bacayao Sur, Lasip Grande, Lucao, Malued, Tapuac, Bolosan, Mamalingling, Tambac, Caranglaan and Mangin.
The city government is reportedly set to conduct series of seminars that will improve capabilities of the city disaster risk reduction and management officials and volunteers in saving lives when a tsunami strikes.
Fernandez has already ordered the start of free swimming lessons for 6,000 children this summer who would be most vulnerable when tsunami strikes.
At the same time, Fernandez defended her move to scrap the unfinished P10-M ‘tsunami hill’ started by the previous administration in island Barangay Pugaro because its location is only less than 20 meters from the sea and only seven meters high.
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