By Elly T. Bolonos and Justin K. Vestil
Thursday, February 9, 2012
THE Cebu City Office of the Building Official (OBO) admitted that some buildings in the city are vulnerable to strong earthquakes.
Acting Building Official Josefa Ylanan pointed out that even in Japan, where advance technology is used in construction projects, some buildings are still not stable enough to withstand strong earthquakes.
But she assured that buildings in the city that were constructed after 2005 can withstand magnitude 8 earthquakes as mandated by the National Building Code.
She said buildings constructed before 2005 were designed to endure quakes with magnitude of up to seven.
In an interview yesterday, Ylanan said the OBO does not issue building permits and certificates of occupancy if the applicants do not comply with standards.
But she said the issuance of an occupancy permit cannot guarantee that the building can withstand quakes with magnitude of more than eight.
She said engineers hired by property owners make sure buildings meet requirements.
Engineers and contractors could face sanctions if a building does not comply with the National Building Code.
Analysis
Ylanan said designing buildings involves seismic analysis to withstand earthquake hazards and this is why buildings in Cebu City remained upright even after last Monday’s magnitude 6.9 tremor.
Still, she urged building owners to be wary and to hire civil engineers to inspect the structural integrity of their properties.
She said there is a need to assure building occupants that they live or work in a safe place.
OBO personnel yesterday started inspecting public buildings, including those of the Social Security System, Government Service Insurance System, Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Civil Service Commission.
Meanwhile, the Cebu City Schools Division finished inspecting around 20 school buildings and found that the walls and floors of some have surface cracks.
City Schools Division Superintendent Rhea Mar Angtud said cracks were found in school buildings in Barangays Sirao and Toong.
Epoxy
But the structural engineer who inspected the buildings said the cracks were not alarming.
“The engineer told me that as long as the beam is not affected, cracks can be remedied by applying structural epoxy,” Angtud said.
She advised principals and head teachers to vacate damaged classrooms and hold classes elsewhere while the rooms are being fixed.
The Department of Engineering and Public Works and the Cebu City Local Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office inspected other public schools in the city.
City Engineer Kenneth Enriquez declined to disclose their initial findings, which will be submitted to Mayor Michael Rama this week.
In Mandaue City, a committee recommended that the school buildings in Barangay Umapad and Opao be vacated immediately.
The Mandaue City Committee on Planning, Development and Socialized Housing, headed by City Councilor Demetrio Cortes Jr., said the cracks on the school buildings are “big enough to cause danger.”
Condemn
The committee also recommended condemning three classrooms in the elementary school of Barangays Subangdaku after finding cracks in the building’s columns.
The committee—together with officers of the city engineering office and the city schools division—inspected 39 public schools.
Buildings of seven other public schools also reported cracks, but these were not considered dangerous.
City Engineer Ceres Menderico said in an interview that during their structural investigation, they found cracks in the columns of a three-classroom building in Umapad Elementary School.
An adult’s hand can fit into the crack, she said.
The team also found cracks on one of the beams of a two-story classroom building in Opao Elementary School.
Nicasio Cortes of the city schools division told reporters that the schools in Umapad and Opao were easily damaged because these stand on reclaimed lots.
Councilor Cortes said he will wait for the final recommendation of the city engineering office before proposing funds for the repair of the two buildings.
He added they will continue the inspection of other schools.
Schools that were inspected last Tuesday are the elementary schools in Paknaan, Tabok I and Tabok II, Tingub, Banilad, Tawason, Casili and Cabancalan.
Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on February 09, 2012.
No comments:
Post a Comment