BY DOMINIQUE GABRIEL G. BAÑAGA
BACOLOD City – Mayor Javier Miguel “Javi” Benitez of Victorias City in Negros Occidental has asked the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) and the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) to check the tremors felt in the city’s two barangays last week.
Residents of Barangay 10 and Barangay 14, both upland areas, felt “strong shaking” on Aug. 24 and 25, according to Benitez in a letter to MGB Region 6 director Raul Laput.
In a separate letter to Phivolcs, Benitez asked that it look into the possibility that there may be a new fault line in the area.
It is also being suspected that the tremors were related to Mt. Mandalagan.
According to the Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program, Mt. Mandalagan is part of the Mandalagan volcanic complex in northern Negros Island straddling the areas of Silay City, Victorias City and Cadiz City.
The mountain is actually a potentially-active stratovolcano with an elevation of 1,885 meters or 6,184 feet.
Mt. Mandalagan’s last eruption was 11,700 years ago during the Holocene period.
According to Benitez, the earthquake felt in the area damaged a three-storey building at the Negros Occidental National Science High School.
The mayor added that the request to “investigate, inspect and assess the subject building at the soonest possible time” is for the “safety, security and peace of mind of the school officials, students and parents.”
Benitez said the tremors on Thursday caused minimal cracks on the walls of 24 classrooms of the school.
The cracks seen on Wednesday were old cracks, but new ones were detected on Thursday, Benitez pointed out.
Classes were suspended on Wednesday until Friday while they were determining the cause of the tremors.
The Victorias City government reported tremors felt in its two barangays at 4 p.m. Wednesday and 1 p.m. Thursday.
Phivolcs, which maintains a seismic station in neighboring Cadiz City, has not recorded any tremors at the time./PN
