MANILA – Should an earthquake occur in Muntinlupa City, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) warns the city that a disturbance in the atmospheric pressure may cause tsunami-like wave or “seiche” from Laguna de Bay.
A “seiche” is a standing wave in enclosed or partially enclosed bodies of water like bays, gulfs or lakes which occurs after a seismic disturbance.
And with the Laguna de Bay ‘just on Muntinlupa’s eastern side,’ the possibility that the city may experience a tsunami-like wave should an earthquake hit is not far from happening.
Muntinlupa’s local government, for their part, has already established ‘fault zones’ where the public are not allowed to reside in. They had also been ‘going to the grassroots and disseminating information to people near Laguna de Bay and the coastline.’
Muntinlupa PIO Tez Navarro states that the city has been declared to be ‘ready for all types of disasters’ since 1999. She also says that the city government has already evacuated students and school officials from Pedro Diaz High School so authorities can look into the building’s structural capacity.
Working hand-in-hand with the city government, Phivolcs Director Renato Solidum Jr. is also set to meet the city and barangay officials, homeowners and others concerned to discuss further preparations needed should an earthquake and other disasters occur.
In the Phivolcs’ updated and detailed maps tracing the 100-kilometer West Valley Fault, Muntinlupa has been among those cities in Metro Manila where the fault traverses.