DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 27 October) – The City Council on the third and final reading Tuesday an ordinance on earthquake disaster prevention and response and establishing a Davao City Earthquake Response Task Force.
First District Councilor Edgar Ibuyan Jr., the proponent of the ordinance said the measure seeks to localize the existing law on earthquake disaster prevention and response by adopting several provisions from the National Building Code.
The ordinance will adopt the General Building Requirements under Section 104 of the National Building Code, which states that all buildings should be designed for their purposes and to follow the requirements of its safe construction.
Building guidelines adopted from Section 105.2 of the same law will also be established, requiring “every building in Seismic Zone 4 over 50 meters in height” to install at least three Earthquake-Recording Instrumentation (ERI) unless waived by the Building Official.
The ERIs will be placed in the basement, midportion, and near the top of the building where they will be easily accessible, and not obstructed by room contents.
Based on the guidelines set by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) The placement of ERIs in buildings is essential to record any seismic activity that engineers and local authorities can use to further understand the building’s structures when exposed to an earthquake.
Under the ordinance, government and private structures above 50 meters in height will be required to install three accelerographs. Two accelerographs are required for public and private 50-bed capacity hospitals, public and private schools with 20 classrooms, and city halls and buildings.
Two accelerographs are required for commercial buildings with 1,000-people occupancy or with gloss floor area of at least 10,000 square meters.
Along with the establishment of the Davao City Earthquake Response Task Force, Technical Support Teams consisting of Rapid Action, Surveillance, Research, and Information, Education, and Communication (EIC) Teams, will be created to implement appropriate actions in times of earthquake disasters in the city.
The ordinance further provides that “building permits shall only be issued for buildings qualified for seismic instrumentation.”
Violations of the ordinance will be meted out a fine of P3,000 for the first offense, P5,000 for the second offense, and a revocation of the building permit after the third offense. (Miah Christine Bontilao/MindaNews)
