Philippines conducts geohazard mapping
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The Philippine government is conducting a geohazard mapping to ensure the country's earthquake readiness, a senior government official said Thursday.
"We need to assess the situation in Metro Manila or the entire Philippines. There are certain areas we have been told, that are more prone to earthquakes," presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said in a press briefing.
"Those things, we have to map out. And in fact, there's a geohazard mapping that the government has been doing together with DOST (Department of Science and Technology) and DENR (Department of Environment and Natural Resources)," said Lacierda.
As soon as the government determines how to better handle the situation, it will ask certain government agencies to prepare the people, particularly employees and students through earthquake drills, he added.
The Philippines sits in the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, an area where continental plates collide producing frequent quakes and volcanic activities.
On Monday, a magnitude 5.8 earthquake rocked the Mindoro region in northern Philippines. On Sunday, a magnitude 6.4 quake jolted the Babuyan Islands region in the same part of the Southeast Asian country. Although neither quake caused casualties or major damage to property, the public's awareness of surviving skills in earthquakes was raised.
