Phivolcs Reminders for Victims of 7.0 Magnitude Earthquake that Hit Abra
PHIVOLCS – The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology released reminders for the victims of the earthquake in Abra.
Daily, several earthquakes are taking place in the Philippines. The country is one of the nations that lie along the Pacific Ring of Fire and are prone to quakes. There are quakes that can hardly be felt while there are also those that were strong enough to cause damage to structures and deaths.
In the country, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) is the agency that monitors earthquake happenings and releases bulletins containing details about natural incidents. Recently, the government agency recorded a strong quake that hit Abra.
The agency initially recorded the said earthquake at 7.3 magnitude. After a short while, the earthquake that hit Abra was downgraded to 7.0.
However, the Abra earthquake was strong enough to cause damage to several private and government-owned infrastructures. According to the provincial counsel, 80% of the residents are affected by the quake.
Abra is currently under State of Calamity following the strong quake. Work and classes are suspended until Monday, August 1, 2022.
Recently, Phivolcs released some reminders for the victims of the earthquake that hit Abra. Based on a report on ABS-CBN News, structural engineer Rannie Ison stressed that infrastructures and houses must be inspected first before deciding to use them.
According to Ison, if there are only small cracks, it may not be a huge concern and the people can still use the infrastructure or house. However, if there are big cracks or huge damage to the structural elements, these can already be a sign that the structure is not safe to use.
According to another structural engineer, Juanito Cunanan, the damage or crack in a structure can be considered small if it can be fixed using a concrete repair or epoxy injection. It can be considered “medium” if the wall is damaged but the structural elements are intact. In the case of huge damages, the engineer advises reconstruction already.
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