MMDA to review earthquake response policy

MANILA, Philippines — The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) is planning to update its nearly decade-old policy in responding to a powerful earthquake that could shake Metro Manila.

The MMDA and the Office of Civil Defense’s National Capital Region unit have held a meeting that discussed the Oplan Metro Yakal Plus, or the Metro Manila Earthquake Contingency Plan, according to a statement from the MMDA last Friday.

MMDA - Public Safety Division head Crisanto Saruca Jr. said the agency would also review the Metropolitan Manila Earthquake Impact Reduction Study, which is included in the Oplan Metro Yakal Plus, to involve risk assessment in case that a tsunami hits the metropolis.

The MMDA did not disclose other details of the meeting, photos of which were posted on its Facebook page.

Established in 2015, the Oplan Metro Yakal Plus is “Metro Manila Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council’s response tool based on the 7.2-magnitude movement of the West Valley Fault with Intensity-8 ground shaking,” according to the document available on the MMDA website.

Projections made by the study, which divided Metro Manila into four quadrants, indicated that an earthquake of such strength could kill more than 31,000 people.