1.

2 Local Seismology

LOCAL SEISMICITY

Introduction to the Topic:

Philippines is situated in the Philippine Sea Plate which lies between two major plates, namely: Eurasian Plate to its west and Pacific Plate to its east. In
summary, our country's landmass is essentially being sandwiched by opposing tectonic plates. The well-known Philippine Fault Zone is one of the primary
tectonic features of the archipelago, along with many other minor faults and trenches. That being said, it is no wonder that the Philippines has experienced
a number of seismic activities over the years (some notable ones are highlighted in this chapter).

Intended Learning Outcomes:

At the end of the session the students should be able to:
1. learn the details regarding the geologic setting of the Philippines;
2. review the location of active faults and trenches in the country; and
3. recap some notable earthquake events in the country over the past decades.

Start of Discussion:
GEOLOGIC SETTING OF THE PHILIPPINES
With the Philippine archipelago lying along the boundaries of the Philippine Sea Plate, it is directly affected by the relative movement of adjacent major
plates. For instance, the northwestward movement of the Pacific Plate pushes the Philippine Sea Plate underneath the eastern portion of the Philippine
islands at a rate of 7 cm/year. Meanwhile, the Eurasian Plate is subducted by the western portion of the Philippine Islands at a rate of 3 cm/year. These
observations on the plate movements are shown in the figures below:
The Philippine landmass is literally being squeezed and sheared off due to the opposing motions of tectonic plates that are present in the expanse of the
archipelago.

ACTIVE FAULTS AND TRENCHES IN THE PHILIPPINES

While the Philippine Fault Zone (PFZ) is the most well-known tectonic feature of the archipelago due to its 1200-km overall length transecting northwest
Luzon to southeast Mindanao, other relatively smaller faults also exist. These minor faults are the Casiguran Fault, Digdig Fault, Lubang Fault, and
Mindanao Fault to name a few. Trenches are also present such as Philippine Trench, Manila Trench, Negros Trench, Sulu Trench, Davao Trench, and
Cotabato trench. This means that the country is bombarded with a number of inland and offshore fault features which often produce a number of major
and minor earthquakes over time. This is highlighted in clear fashion through the earthquake section of the National Structural Code of the Philippines
2015. The maps of which are presented below:

The distribution of active faults and trenchesper region in the country is also substantiated in NSCP 2015 through dedicated regional fault maps shown
below:
NOTABLE EARTHQUAKE EVENTS IN THE PHILIPPINES
Over the recent centuries, hundreds of earthquakes have been documented with epicenter situated in the domain of the country. This is most aptly
illustrated through the figure below where a summary of seismic events resulting to magnitudes greater than or equal to 4.0 are marked, along with the
corresponding focal depth (with most of them at 0-65 km which is characteristic of destructive shallow focus earthquakes). In the last fifty years, notable earthquake events are as follows:
2013 Bohol Earthquake - a magnitude 7.2 earthquake (with a shallow focal depth of 12 km) with epicenter at the Central Visayas Region. NDRRMC has
reported numerous losses, injuries, and deaths. Ultimately, tens of thousands of structures were damaged with about 15,000 completely destroyed.
1990 Luzon Earthquake - a magnitude 7.7 earthquake with focal depth of about 25 km which originated from the town of Rizal, Nueva Ecija in Luzon
(recorded casualties reached over 1600 deaths with most fatalities situated in Central Luzon and Cordillera Region).
1976 Earthquake - a magnitude 8.0 earthquake at focal depth of around 60 km emanating from offshore at Moro Gulf, Mindanao (deaths documented
tallied at above 5000). Due to the nature of the location of its epicenter, it was also associated with big tsunami waves sweeping adjacent coastal areas.

Indeed, the country served home to a number of earthquakes. Even then, it is worth noting that while most of the country is situated at Seismic Zone 4
(where seismic activities are abundant), places like Palawan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi are safer havens in the context of seismicity - said provinces belong to
Seismic Zone 2 where minimal seismic events have been observed.

End of Discussion.