ILOILO CITY – The Office of Civil Defense (OCD-6) is pushing for assessment of structural integrity of infrastructures across Western Visayas region, following a 6.6-magnitude earthquake in Masbate Tuesday that was felt here.
READ MORE: One dead, heavy damage to properties recorded as strong quake hits Masbate
OCD-6 Regional Director Jose Roberto Nuñez issued an August 18 memorandum, urging local governments and government agencies in Aklan, Antique, Capiz, Guimaras, Iloilo, and Negros Occidental provinces, as well as highly urbanized cities of Iloilo and Bacolod, to assess their respective infrastructures.
Nuñez emphasized the need to ensure safety and resilience of buildings as Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) recorded the earthquake that was felt in Iloilo City and the rest of Panay Island as well as in Negros Occidental province.
Nuñez, who chairs the Western Visayas Regional Risk Reduction and Management Council (Westervn Visayas RDRRMC) said RDRRMCs in the provincial, city, municipal, and barangay levels should tap personnel of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) for the assessment.
The local governments and the government agencies were asked to submit its assessment by August 20.
Panay Island was where the destructive “Lady Caycay” occurred. The 8.2-magnitude earthquake in 1948 was the second strongest in the country’s history. The number of dead was unaccounted for while it destroyed more than 50 heritage churches.