LINGAYEN – Pangasinan would soon have an earthquake intensity meter of its own.
The Pangasinan Provincial Board in its online session on April 4, approved a resolution that authorized Governor Amado I. Espino III to enter and sign a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the Department of Science and Technology- Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (DOST-PHIVOLCS) for the installation of the earthquake intensity meter.
In a resolution which was authored by Sangguniang Panlalawigan Member Jerome Vic O. Espino, the DOST-PHIVOLCS intends to place earthquake intensity meters to be strategically located in key areas of the province to monitor and acquire precise and faster readings of tremors.
“Nine units of earthquake intensity meters will be located in pre-selected areas of the province to include one in Lingayen, Pangasinan which is to be installed inside the premises of the Provincial Capitol Building,” the resolution said.
“The earthquake intensity meter is composed of an accelerometer, an internet-based data transmission system and an uninterruptible power supply which can numerically evaluate the severity of earthquake-related ground shaking in the area of around the seismic sensor on a near real-time basis,” the resolution stated.
The Sangguniang Panlalawigan is fully supporting the project of DOST-PHIVOLCS as a tool for seismologists to issue faster landslide and tsunami alerts, and save lives and properties in the event of a strong earthquake.
Earthquakes happen every day and it can happen anywhere, both tectonic plate edges and interiors. Pangasinan experienced one of the strongest earthquakes in the Philippines, when a magnitude of 7.7 struck Luzon Island on July 16, 1990, the epicenter of which was the Rizal town in Nueva Ecija near Cabanatuan City.
More than 1,000 people were killed. The massive tremor wreaked havoc across a sizable portion of Luzon, the country’s largest island, with Baguio City suffering the most devastating effects.
The installation of earthquake intensity meters here will greatly contribute to the advancement of DOST-PHIVOLCS earthquake monitoring capability.
DOST-PHIVOLCS will be represented by Undersecretary Renato U. Solidum, Jr. in the MOA signing.