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Prevention is always better than cure — but will people heed the advance warning?
“Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) director Renato Solidum Jr. said they have advised six schools that are located on top or within the buffer zone of the West Valley Fault to either abandon or completely demolish their buildings in case a massive earthquake hits the fault and causes untold destruction,” reports ABS-CBNnews.com.
READ: Download the newly updated Phivolcs West Valley Fault line map
Phivolcs has identified the six schools built near or on top of the West Valley Fault as the following:
1. Sitio Karahume Elementary School in San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan
2. Barangka Elementary School in Marikina
3. Tibagan Elementary School in Makati
4. Anne-Claire Montessori in Taguig
5. Alabang Elementary School in Muntinlupa
6. E. Pedro Diaz High School in Muntinlupa
Solidum was quoted as saying, “They need to transfer the kids. They’re not that many. They need to discuss it with [the Department of Education] and school officials. Essentially, they are putting students at risk. To be fair, we don’t know when the fault will move.”
Solidum added, “It’s like gambling with their lives.”
The report noted: “Phivolcs recently launched a Valley Fault System Atlas, which has been distributed to local government units. The 100-kilometer West Valley Fault transects 42 barangays in Quezon City, Marikina, Pasig, Makati, Taguig, Muntinlupa, and 30 barangays in Bulacan, Laguna, and Cavite.”
