MANILA TRENCH UNDER WATCH

THE Dagupan City government is continuously preparing for the possible occurrence of the so-called “The Big One” – a strong earthquake that may hit Pangasinan if the Manila Trench, some 100 kilometers west of Bolinao in the West  Philippine Sea, moves at magnitude 8.3,  and generate a tsunami as high as seven meters in Dagupan and neighboring areas.

City Legal Officer Aurora Valle, speaking before the Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) on October 14, said Mayor Belen Fernandez is continuously holding dialogues with principals of different schools, through City Schools Superintendent Rowena Banzon, to ensure readiness in terms of response and infrastructure.

Valle said following the strong earthquakes felt in various parts of the country last week, Fernandez convened member agencies of the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (CRRM) Council to a meeting last October 13 and called on them to prepare for The Big One that state seismologists said may happen soon.

She said there is also a need for the city to buy tents, folding beds, and emergency bags containing food items, maintenance and other medicines, water, flashlights, battery-operated transistor radios, and important documents, among others, which families may take with them if they need to evacuate.

The city already purchased rescue vehicles for each barangay and fire trucks, ambulances, rescue trucks, and other life-saving tools for the CRRMO Office.

Valle said the 31 barangay captains, led by Liga ng mga Barangay president Marcelino Fernandez, vowed to stay vigilant to protect their communities.

For its part, the SP has conducted a committee hearing last October 16 for the adoption of a resolution that will ask owners of high-Arise buildings and houses to use their properties as temporary evacuation centers for their neighbors if there is a tsunami alert.  (Leonardo Micua)