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Luzon quake like a 'lightweight' boxer, gov't bracing for 'heavyweight' - Phivolcs

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ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2019/news/04/23/20190423-porac-guagua-earthquake-jc-1958.jpg"/><figcaption>A woman checks the damage at Santa Catalina de Alejandria parish church in Porac, Pampanga, April 23, 2019.The church&#x27;s belfry was damaged following Monday&#x27;s 6.1-magnitude quake. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News</figcaption></figure></div>MANILA - The powerful quake that shook Luzon Monday is like a &quot;lightweight&quot; boxer, the head of seismology office Phivolcs said Tuesday, adding that the government is preparing for a &quot;heavyweight&quot; with the possibility of a stronger temblor in Metro Manila. The 100-kilometer West Valley Fault -- which stretches from Bulacan province, passes through Metro Manila and ends in Laguna -- can spawn a magnitude 7.2 quake, said Phivolcs chief Renato Solidum. It moves every 400 to 600 years and triggered a magnitude 6.3 to 6.5 quake in 1648, he said. A shorter fault between Zambales and Pampanga provinces triggered Monday afternoon&#x27;s magnitude 6.1 quake, which killed 11 people and caused buildings to sway, Solidum said. &quot;Yung kahandaan namin ay parang inihahalintulad ko sa boxing. Kung ang kalaban natin ay heavyweight, iyung preparedness natin ay heavyweight o superweight; hindi lightweight ang ating pinapaghandaan,&quot; he told radio DZMM. (I liken our preparedness to boxing. If our opponent is a heavyweight, our preparedness should be for a heavyweight or superweight; we are not preparing for a lightweight.) &quot;Iyung nangyari kahapon ay lightweight lang na earthquake, middleweight. Kung handa tayo sa mas malaki, dapat wala tayong problema sa nangyari kahapon,&quot; he added. (The quake yesterday is only lightweight, middleweight. If we are prepared for a bigger one, we should not have had any problem yesterday.) A magnitude 7.2 quake could cause a &quot;very destructive&quot; Intensity 8 shaking that would likely prevent people from even standing up, said Solidum. Authorities, he said, should focus on fortifying buildings, bridges and transport terminals in Metro Manila. &quot;Kahit intensity 8 siya, kung hindi naman babagsak ang bahay, gusali, ligtas tayo,&quot; Solidum said. (Even if the shaking is at intensity 8, if houses and buildings would not collapse we&#x27;ll still be safe.) &quot;Ang preparedness kasi sa lindol hindi overnight nangyayari, marami pang kumbinsihan,&quot; he added. (Earthquake preparedness does not happen overnight, we still need to do a lot of convincing.)

A powerful quake that rumbled across Luzon is like a "lightweight" boxer, the head of seismology office Phivolcs said Tuesday, adding that the government is preparing for a "heavyweight" with the possibility of a stronger tremor in Metro Manila.

A powerful quake that rumbled across Luzon is like a "lightweight" boxer, the head of seismology office Phivolcs said Tuesday, adding that the government is preparing for a "heavyweight" with the possibility of a stronger tremor in Metro Manila.