SOUTHEASTERN COLLEGE

Strong in Mind, Body and Spirit

College Road, Taft Avenue, Pasay City

A WRITTEN REPORT ON THE APRIL 22, 2019

NORTHERN PHILIPPINES

EARTHQUAKE

Disaster Readiness and Risk Reduction

February 2022
 SOUTHEASTERN COLLEGE
Strong in Mind, Body and Spirit
College Road, Taft Avenue, Pasay City

2019 NORTHERN PHILIPPINES EARTHQUAKE

OVERVIEW

According to the Oxford Languages, an earthquake is “a sudden and violent shaking

of the ground, sometimes causing great destruction, as a result of movements within the earth's

crust or volcanic action”. There are four (4) types of earthquake; Tectonic, Volcanic, Collapse

and Explosion. According to PHIVOLCS, tectonic earthquakes occur when there is a sudden

movement along faults and plate boundaries. On the other hand, volcanic earthquakes occur

when there is volcanic activity. Collapse earthquakes are also defined as the minimal earthquakes

that occur underground mines and caverns. Lastly, explosion earthquakes are caused by human

activity specifically from the explosion of nuclear and chemical devices. Tectonic and volcanic

earthquakes are natural disasters while collapse and explosion earthquakes are man-made

disasters. According to the California Academy of Sciences, the anatomy of an earthquake

consists of five (5) parts; Fault, Epicenter, Focus (Hypocenter), Plates, and Seismic waves.

Figure 1.0: Anatomy of an Earthquake (Source: https://tinyurl.com/5n6vcsd3).

According to the British Geological Survey in the year 2021, eighty percent (80%) of

the earthquakes worldwide mostly occur in the Pacific Ring of Fire or around the edges of the

Pacific Ocean (Where Do Earthquakes Occur?, 2021).

 SOUTHEASTERN COLLEGE
Strong in Mind, Body and Spirit
College Road, Taft Avenue, Pasay City

On April 22, 2019, Monday, at 5:11 PM (PST) — a tectonic earthquake — a natural

disaster — with a magnitude of 6.1 occurred in different parts of Luzon. According to

PHIVOLCS, the epicenter of the said earthquake is located at 15.02°N, 120.34°E and eighteen

(18) kilometers N 58° E of Castillejos, Zambales with a focal depth of 10 kilometers. Different

intensities were recorded in different parts of Luzon. Intensity VI were recorded in San

Marcelino, Zambales; Subic, Zambales; municipalities of Pampanga; Angeles City; and

Olongapo City. On the other hand, Intensity V were recorded in municipalities of Bulacan; San

Rafael, Tarlac; municipalities of Pangasinan; etc. Aftershocks were followed, and according to

the Department of Science and Technology - Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology

(PHIVOLCS-DOST), four hundred twenty-one (421) aftershocks have been recorded as of 8:00

AM (PST) of 23 April 2019 and one-thousand ninety-seven (1,097) aftershocks were recorded as

of as of April 28, 2019. Sixteen (16) out of one-thousand ninety-seven (1,097) aftershocks were

felt by the population. In addition, the magnitude of the aftershocks ranges from 1.4 to 2.5.

Intensity VI Intensity V Intensity IV

(Very Strong) (Strong) (Moderately Strong)

● San Marcelino and ● Tarlac City ● Meycauayan, Plaridel,

Subic in Zambales ● Castillejos and San and San Jose Del
● Olongapo City Felipe in Zambales Monte City in
● Floridablanca, Lubao, ● Magalang, Mexico, Bulacan
Porac, and Angeles and San Fernando in ● San Rafael in Tarlac
City in Pampanga Pampanga ● Rosales and Villasis in
● Abucay, Balanga, and Pangasinan
Mariveles in Bataan ● Itogon and La
● Malolos, and Obando Trinidad in Benguet
 SOUTHEASTERN COLLEGE
Strong in Mind, Body and Spirit
College Road, Taft Avenue, Pasay City

in Bulacan ● Kasibu in Nueva

● Indang in Cavite Vizcaya
● Lipa City in Batangas ● Gabaldon in Nueva
● Makati City Ecija
● Mandaluyong City ● San Mateo and
● Manila City Antipolo City in Rizal
● Quezon City ● Bacoor, Imus, and
● Pasay City Maragondon in Cavite
● San Juan City ● Nasugbu in Batangas
● Taguig City ● Baguio City
● Valenzuela City ● Tagaytay City
● Caloocan City
● Las Piñas City
● Marikina City
● Pasig City
Figure 2.0: Places affected by the 22 April 2019 earthquake in the Northern Philippines.

Intensity III Intensity II

(Weak) (Slightly Felt)

● Marilao in Bulacan ● Baler, Aurora

● Santo Domingo, Gapan City,
Cabanatuan City, Palayan City, and
Talavera in Nueva Ecija
● Maddela in Quirino
● Dingalan in Aurora
● Lucban in Quezon
● Carmona, Dasmariñas, General Trias
and Silang in Cavite
● San Nicolas and Talisay in Batangas
● Calamba City and Santa Cruz in
Laguna
● Muntinlupa City
Figure 2.1: Places affected by the 22 April 2019 earthquake in the Northern Philippines.
 SOUTHEASTERN COLLEGE
Strong in Mind, Body and Spirit
College Road, Taft Avenue, Pasay City

CAUSES

The tectonic earthquake that occurred in the central part of Luzon is due to two (2)

different factors in regards to the nature of the said earthquake; Geological and tectonic setting

and Fault setting (Garciano et al, 2019).

Geological and Tectonic Setting

The Philippines is consists of three (3) island groups, namely Luzon, Visayas,

and Mindanao. These groups are divided into a total of seventeen (17) administrative

divisions. Eight (8) out of the seventeen (17) divisions are from the largest island of the

Philippines, Luzon.

Philippine Mobile Belt (PMB) is defined as the “zone of deformation and

active seismicity that accommodates the stresses caused by the northwestward movement

of the Philippine Sea Plate” (Garciano et al, 2019). This zone consists of North and

South Luzon, East and West Visayas, Zamboanga, Bicol Region, Cotabato, Northwest

Mindanao, and Catanduanes Island (Lagmay et al., 2009).

Fault Setting

A fault is defined as a fracture or zone of fractures between two blocks of rock

which allows their movements. Aside from the major faults, local can also be found

which can potentially generate small to moderate magnitude earthquakes. Earthquakes

occur in the central part of Luzon due to the various fault zones namely Philippine Fault,

Iba Fault, East Zambales Fault, and Mariana Trench. To add, the one-thousand

four-hundred (1400) kilometers left lateral Philippine fault lies within Philippine Mobile

Belt (PMB).
 SOUTHEASTERN COLLEGE
Strong in Mind, Body and Spirit
College Road, Taft Avenue, Pasay City

IMPACTS

The magnitude 6.1 earthquake that struck the Northern Philippines on April 22, 2019

caused severe damage not only to the infrastructures but also to the population.

Number of People Affected

According to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council

(NDRRMC), a total of 18,086 individuals in 41 Barangays within Region III (Central

Luzon) were affected by the earthquake. A total 18 casualties. 256 injured, and 3 missing

persons were also reported.

Effects on the Population

Due to the severe shaking of the ground, it could cause damages to infrastructures

that could harm people. Infrastructures with weak foundations and low-quality materials

are prone to collapse. Severe collapsion is equal to high-rate of casualties and injured

people.

This catastrophe could cause social conflicts especially in the evacuation centers

where, sometimes, there is only a limited number or no sanitary facilities. In addition,

these could also affect the health of the survivors of the disaster as it can cause a breakout

of communicable water-borne diseases.

 SOUTHEASTERN COLLEGE
Strong in Mind, Body and Spirit
College Road, Taft Avenue, Pasay City

Aside from physically harming people, disasters like earthquakes could also harm

people mentally. According to Naroju, disasters could affect survivors in a way that they

show “psychological symptoms that look like Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

such as intense fear, nightmares, and flashbacks, or they continuously experience the

event in their head” (Naroju, 2018).

Due to the damages on public and commercial infrastractures caused by the

earthquake, it could affect the economy of the specific area or the country itself. A lot of

people will become unemployed. People in the lower-class are the most affected by the

disaster and they will also be the one who will have a hard time to recover due to lack of

source of money, savings, etc.

As a result of the shaking of the ground, some of the water, electric, and

communications lines could be damaged. This could cause an inconvenience to the

population. It could negatively affect their quality of life.

 SOUTHEASTERN COLLEGE
Strong in Mind, Body and Spirit
College Road, Taft Avenue, Pasay City

DAMAGE TO STRUCTURES

This report will mainly focus on the damage of the earthquake in the infrastructure of

Pampanga, Philippines.

Damage to Houses

A total of 1,549 homes were damaged because of the earthquake. 162 out of 1,549

homes were totally damaged and 1,387 out of the 1,549 homes were partially damaged

(National Disaster Risk Reduction & Management Council). Based from the 2018 data of

the Philippine Statistics Authority, the total number of households in Pampanga is

479,082. According to Garciano et al., “the percentage of damaged houses, both partially

and totally damaged, in Pampanga with respect to the number of households is equal to

0.88%” (Garciano, 2019).

Figure 3.0: Number of Damaged Houses

(Source:https://committees.jsce.or.jp/disaster/system/files/FS2020-E0002.pdf)

Figure 3.1: Number of Damaged Houses

(Source:https://committees.jsce.or.jp/disaster/system/files/FS2020-E0002.pdf)
 SOUTHEASTERN COLLEGE
Strong in Mind, Body and Spirit
College Road, Taft Avenue, Pasay City

Damage to Bridges

In Floridablanca, Pampanga, there is a report that there is one (1) bridge that is

not passable by the vehicles because of the damage caused by the earthquake.

Figure 4.0: Damage to Consuela Bridge in Floridablanca,

Pampanga
(Source:www.bworldonline.com)

Damage to Roads and Highways

Due to “collapsed slope protection and scouring from the embankment and half of

the carriageway” of one road in Lubao, Pampanga, it was not passable as it was

rendered.

Damage to Structures and Buildings

It was reported that in Regions I, III, and IVA, and the National Capital Region

(NCR), there were 739 buildings and structures damaged because of the earthquake.

According to Del Rosario from the Philippine News Agency, the place where five (5) out

of the eighteen (18) casualties reported is from the four-storey supermarket in Porac,

Pampanga, Chuzon Supermarket.

 SOUTHEASTERN COLLEGE
Strong in Mind, Body and Spirit
College Road, Taft Avenue, Pasay City

Figure 5.0: Damaged exterior of Chuzon Supermarket

(Source:https://committees.jsce.or.jp/disaster/system/files/FS2020-E0002.pdf)

Figure 5.1: Observed damages to the Chuzon Supermarket

(Source:https://committees.jsce.or.jp/disaster/system/files/FS2020-E0002.pdf)

In Clark International Airport located in Angeles City, Pampanga, there were also

non-structural damages on the ceiling.

Figure 6.0: Damaged ceiling in Clark International Airport

(Source:https://committees.jsce.or.jp/disaster/system/files/FS2020-E0002.pdf)
 SOUTHEASTERN COLLEGE
Strong in Mind, Body and Spirit
College Road, Taft Avenue, Pasay City

In Pampanga, there were three (3) damaged churches’ bell and ceiling due to the

earthquake; Santa Catalina Church and Pio Church in Porac, and St. Augustine Church

in Lubao.

Figure 7.0: Bell Tower damage to Santa Catalina Church

(Source:https://committees.jsce.or.jp/disaster/system/files/FS2020-E0002.pdf)

Figure 8.0: Damaged bell tower of Pio Church)

(Source:www.inquirer.net)
 SOUTHEASTERN COLLEGE
Strong in Mind, Body and Spirit
College Road, Taft Avenue, Pasay City

Figure 9.0: Damaged ceiling in Clark International Airport

(Source: www.thesummitexpress.com)

Damage Cost

The estimated cost of the damages to infrastructures caused by the earthquake is

equal to Php. 505,920,000.00.

Figure 10.0: . Cost of Damages to Schools, Roads, and Bridges of

the Pampanga Earthquake (Source: NDRRMC)

Earthquake-induced Hazards

Outside Pampanga, there was an occurrence of an earthquake-induced hazard — a

landslide — in Mt. Bimmukel, San Marcelino, Zambales. Because of this, one-hundred

and twenty (120) families were forced to evacuate from the area.
 SOUTHEASTERN COLLEGE
Strong in Mind, Body and Spirit
College Road, Taft Avenue, Pasay City

FACTORS

There are various factors that could possibly aggravate the impact of an earthquake or a

disaster but here are some of the possible factors: Population density, time of day,

communication, time of year and climate.

At 5:11 PM (PST), on 22 April 2019, Monday, Northern Luzon was struck by an

earthquake. The first factor that could aggravate a disaster is the time of the day. Here in the

Philippines, rush hours in the morning start from 8 AM to 9 AM and in the afternoon or evening,

it starts from 5 PM to 9 PM. An occurence of a disaster in a densely populated urban area during

rush hours could exacerbate the impacts of the disaster. This is why there are a lot of casualties

— five (5) out of eighteen (18) casualties — were retrieved from the Chuzon Supermarket in

Porac, Pampanga since it is densely populated during the rush hours. Aside from that, the

foundation and the structure of the building itself could be one of the factors. The foundation of

the building might not be that strong to withstand a sudden movement of the ground, which

causes it to collapse.

According to the findings of the investigation of the Department of Public Works and

Highways (DPWH) on the collapsed Chuzon Supermarket in Porac town, Pampanga, the

collapsion of the building was due to the “failure to comply with required referral codes, design

plans and specifications, and proper construction supervision” (Orejas, 2019).

 SOUTHEASTERN COLLEGE
Strong in Mind, Body and Spirit
College Road, Taft Avenue, Pasay City

PREVENTION

Government

Government must have an “awareness, education, preparedness, and prediction

and warning systems” for each type of disaster that the country could possibly face.

Upon attaining all of these, it can help in reducing the impacts of the disasters. Aside

from that, “mitigation measures such as adoption of zoning, land-use practices, and

building codes are needed, however, to prevent or reduce actual damage from hazards”

(A Safer Future, 1991).

Community

1. Community Warning System

● In times of disaster, a community warning system is a must because it is

one of the mediums where the people could get information on temporary

shelters, evacuation routes, and other emergency procedures. The

members of the community must establish and be aware of their local

warning system.

2. Neighborhood Directory

● In each household, there must be a list of home and work phone numbers

and e-mail addresses for all community members. In case the disaster

occurs and elderly and children are alone in their house, this directory

could help them.

 SOUTHEASTERN COLLEGE
Strong in Mind, Body and Spirit
College Road, Taft Avenue, Pasay City

3. Members with special needs

● Identify the people in the community who have special needs and create a

concrete plan on how they will be assisted in times of an emergency. This

could reduce the number of casualties and injured people.

4. Members with special skills or equipment

● Identify the people in your community who will be willing to help by

sharing their knowledge or equipment in times of an emergency. In this

way it could prevent the further aggravation of the impact of the disaster.

5. Caring for pets

● Aside from the people, pets or animals should be included in evacuation as

they also have life. The community must create a concrete plan on how

they will assist animals in times of disaster.

6. Evacuation procedures

● The community must coordinate with the local emergency management

office in creating an evacuation plan. Recognize the designated evacuation

routes for your area. After identifying that, distribute the map to the

community.

7. Local shelters

● “Provide the location of all county shelters to community members” as it

will direct them on where they should evacuate in times of disaster.

 SOUTHEASTERN COLLEGE
Strong in Mind, Body and Spirit
College Road, Taft Avenue, Pasay City

8. School emergency plans

● The community must create an evacuation plan where it includes the

location where the students will meet their parents.

9. Family emergency plans

● The community must encourage its members to create their own “family

preparedness plans that cover emergency contact information for family

members, predetermined meeting places, home evacuation procedures,

emergency pet care, safe storage of food and water, and assembling

disaster supplies kits” (Community Preparedness | Office of Disaster

Preparedness and Management - ODPM, n.d.).

 SOUTHEASTERN COLLEGE
Strong in Mind, Body and Spirit
College Road, Taft Avenue, Pasay City

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earthquake noun - Definition, pictures, pronunciation and usage notes | Oxford Advanced

Learner’s Dictionary at OxfordLearnersDictionaries.com. (n.d.). Oxford Advanced

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ke

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Ramos, J. (2019). Infrastructure damage analysis of the Pampanga, Philippines

earthquake. https://committees.jsce.or.jp/disaster/system/files/FS2020-E0002.pdf

Staff, P. (2019). PRIMER ON THE 22 APRIL 2019 MAGNITUDE 6.1 CENTRAL LUZON

EARTHQUAKE. Dost.gov.ph. https://tinyurl.com/yc8bxdhr

California Academy of Sciences. (n.d.). Anatomy of an Earthquake.

https://www.calacademy.org/explore-science/anatomy-of-an-earthquake

Where do earthquakes occur? (2021, December 9). British Geological Survey.

https://tinyurl.com/yckv4dzs

Alfredo Mahar Lagmay, Maria Luisa Tejada, Pena, R., & Billedo, E. (2009, December 2).

New Definition of Philippine Plate Boundaries and Implications to the Philippine Mobile

Belt. ResearchGate; unknown. https://tinyurl.com/ycu8396k

Sandesh Naroju. (2018, October 31). How Do Earthquakes Affect Human Life (7 Ways).

RiddleLife; RiddleLife. https://www.riddlelife.com/how-do-earthquake-affect-human-life/

 SOUTHEASTERN COLLEGE
Strong in Mind, Body and Spirit
College Road, Taft Avenue, Pasay City

Factors affecting the impact of an earthquake - Earthquakes - GCSE Geography

Revision. (n.d.). BBC Bitesize. https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/ztp2k7h/revision/4

Orejas, T. (2019, October 16). DPWH: Multiple violations led to supermarket collapse.

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‌
 SOUTHEASTERN COLLEGE
Strong in Mind, Body and Spirit
College Road, Taft Avenue, Pasay City