Philippine trenches may generate Magnitude 8 earthquakes, says PHIVOLCS

Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) Director Teresito Bacolcol said that the country could experience earthquakes stronger than magnitude 8.

“The Philippine Archipelago is actually compressed on both sides by the Eurasian Plate and the Philippine Sea Plate, pero yung Eurasian Plate almost immobile. Ang malakas na motion would be the Philippine Sea Plate. We are being pushed towards the northwest,” Bacolcol said in Raffy Tima's report on ''24 Oras'' on Thursday.

(The Philippine Archipelago is actually compressed on both sides by the Eurasian Plate and the Philippine Sea Plate, but the Eurasian Plate is almost immobile. The strong motion would come from the Philippine Sea Plate. We are being pushed towards the northwest.)

“The Philippine Trench here in Samar is capable of generating [magnitude] 8.1 and when that happens, puwedeng mag generate ng tsunami as high as 10 meters. Dito naman sa Manila Trench, puwede siya mag generate ng [magnitude] 8.3 earthquake,” he said.

(The Philippine Trench here in Samar is capable of generating magnitude 8.1, and when that happens, it may generate tsunamis as high as 10 meters. The Manila Trench can generate magnitude 8.3 earthquakes.)

He added that it might take only five minutes for the first tsunami waves to arrive following the earthquake, making it challenging to send out tsunami alerts as quickly as possible.

Bacolcol urged those living along the coast to recognize the signs of "Shake, Drop, and Roar" following a powerful earthquake.

“When there is strong shaking na halos hindi ka na makagalaw or di ka na makatayo, and there is sudden drop of sea level, and there is a roaring sound coming from the sea… Kung isa sa mga yan na observe mo, you have to evacuate immediately to a higher place, kung nasa coastal community ka,” he said.

(When there is a strong shaking to the point you can barely move or can’t stand, there is a sudden drop of sea level, and there is a roaring sound coming from the sea… If that’s one of the things you’ve observed, you have to evacuate to a higher place immediately if you’re in a coastal community.)

Bacolcol issued the remarks after a magnitude-7.2 earthquake hit eastern Taiwan on Wednesday, killing 10 people.

Last June, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said over 60,000 fatalities and 120,000 missing people were expected if a 7.2-magnitude earthquake, or the ''Big One'' hit Metro Manila. — Jiselle Anne Casucian/VBL, GMA Integrated News