Quake and tsunami monitoring center opens in San Fernando, Cebu

The Department of Science and Technology - Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (DOST-PHIVOLCS) opened officially the PHIVOLCS Visayas Cluster Monitoring Center for Earthquake and Tsunami in the Municipality of San Fernando, south Cebu Province.

DOST Secretary Renato Solidum, Jr. said that the monitoring center cost P15 million, excluding the cost to operate the state-of-the-art facility located in Purok 11-Santan, Barangay North Poblacion.

The facility is part of the agency’s initiatives to monitor earthquakes and tsunamis.

According to Solidum, the facility will help monitor fault lines in the Visayas, especially in Cebu. The center has real-time display and monitoring of tremors and tsunamis using the Philippine Seismic Network.

Aside from its capacity to monitor quakes in neighboring nations, it can also monitor volcanic activities.

The center is open 24 hours and welcomes educational tours.

DOST-PHIVOLCS has 125 seismic stations while the Visayas cluster monitoring center has nine staff-controlled seismic stations, 25 satellite telemetered seismic stations, 6 sea-level monitoring station for tsunami detection, and seven community tsunami alerting stations.

PHIVOLCS Director Teresita Bacolcol, Office of the Civil Defense 7 Director Joel Erestain, San Fernando Mayor Mytha Ann Canoy, and Cebu Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office  Head Neil Angelo Sanchez graced the formal opening along with Secretary Solidum. —GMA Regional TV