Visayas quake victims may return to homes after thorough inspection – Phivolcs exec

The aftershocks felt after the magnitude 7.2 earthquake that claimed at least 99 lives and injured countless others on Tuesday morning should not stop people from returning to their homes, but only after the structures had been thoroughly inspected.

In an iterview on "Unang Balita," Ishmael Narag, OIC Seismology division of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said: “Kung gusto naman talaga nila bumalik sa bahay nila, puwede naman as long as na-check nila na kakayanin or hindi masyado nasira yung bahay nila.”

He said this after noting that some people affected by the quake were traumatized and chose to sleep outdoors for fear aftershocks could cause total collapse of their homes while they are inside.

Also, he said 762 aftershocks have been recorded as of 6 a.m., including 12 aftershocks reported to have been felt.

But Narag is worried about buildings that have cracks or sustained any form of damage from the quake.

“Ang malaking problema yung mga buildings na nakita nating may ebidensya ng damage. Kaya ang gagawin talaga ay sisipatin ito ng enhinyero para malaman kung gagamitin [pa] ito o hindi [na].” he ssaid.

Moreover, he said the damage was caused by a compressional plate movement wherein tectonic plates were thrust vertically against each other.

The area of Bohol was thrusting in an upward direction causing indiscriminate damage even to historical churches dating hundreds of years and the Chocolate Hills, a popular tourist spot.

However, Narag said fatalities were at a minimum due to the circumstances of that day.

“Kaunti [ang namatay] dahil sa suwerte tayo kasi holiday ng oras na yon at konti yung nagsimba,” he said.

“But in terms of damage, unless we see the impact assessment hindi pa natin masabi talaga kung gaano kadami [ang damage],” Narag said.

Meanwhile, interest in the quake soared online with Filipino netizens closely following the news causing the Phivolcs site to max out its visitor limit.

“I think marami kasi yung nag access nung website so meron kaming bandwidth limit [kaya hindi na makapasok yung iba,” Narag said.

The earthquake rocked mostly Bohol and Cebu and could be compared to quakes in Haiti and China according to Narag. — Andrei Medina /LBG, GMA News