13 southern Mindanao towns prone to quakes

DAVAO CITY, Philippines – A study jointly conducted by a technical team from Kyoto University in Japan and the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) has identified at least 13 municipalities in southern Mindanao to be prone to damage once an earthquake occurs.

The Regional Disaster Coordinating Council has warned the local governments concerned on possible damage should strong earthquakes occur.

The towns identified by the joint study included Asuncion and New Corella towns in Davao del Norte; Nabunturan, Mawab, Montevista, New Bataan, Maragusan and Pantukan in Compostela Valley; and Banay-banay, Lupon and Mati in Davao Oriental.

Phivolcs and Kyodo University have been tracing two seismic activities that contributed to ground stress decades ago, as they have been conducting “active fault mapping and paleoseismic studies” along the Philippine Fault zones in eastern Mindanao.