The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) continues to promote a tsunami-ready Philippines.
A tsunami is a series of sea waves generated by wide-scale events including earthquakes, landslides, and volcanic eruptions. Although it rarely happens in the country, Phivolcs reiterated that the Philippines is vulnerable to tsunamis due to offshore faults and trenches, particularly Manila Trench, Negros Trench, Sulu Trench, Cotabato Trench, Philippine Trench, and East Luzon Trough.
To observe the World Tsunami Awareness Day on Saturday, Nov. 5, Phivolcs opted to launch an infopress for Filipinos to better understand the science of tsunamis.
READ: https://mb.com.ph/2022/11/04/why-should-ph-be-tsunami-ready/
“Layunin ng World Tsunami Awareness Day na pataasin ang kaalaman ng mga tao sa tsunami at ibahagi ang iba’t-ibang paraan upang mabawasan ang pinsala nito (World Tsunami Awareness Day aims to increase people’s knowledge about tsunami and share various ways to reduce its damage),” said Phivolcs.
The observance was officially launched in 2015 and, according to the United Nations, was the “brainchild” of Japan.
Meanwhile, Phivolcs continues to strengthen and improve the country’s tsunami monitoring and communication system. Currently, there are 29 sea-level monitoring stations and 55 tsunami alerting stations across the Philippines.
Aside from these initiatives, the institute continues to promote community-level awareness about the signs of an impending tsunami as well as evacuation procedures, reiterating that an effective end-to-end tsunami early warning system could save thousands of lives.