MANILA — The Philippine Institute for Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) on Tuesday reminded the public to check their homes for large cracks after fissures were seen in a town in Sarangani following the quake that struck parts of Mindanao last week.

• Massive ground fissures appear in Glan, Sarangani after quake

Liquefaction “usually happens near sandy areas and coastlines” after ground shaking, said Dr. Teresito Bacolcol, officer in charge of Phivolcs.

“Puwede nating malaman kung liquefaction-prone ang isang lugar. It usually happens sa mga mabubuhangin na lugar o sa mga areas na may loose coastlines,” he said in a public briefing.

One way to know if a property is built in a liquefaction-prone areas is to check it via the Hazard Hunter PH app, which identifies all hazard zones in the country, the Phivolcs chief said.

Homeowners can also seek help from their local governments to determine ways on how to make their properties disaster-proof, he said.

“May mga engineering techniques to lessen the impact of liquifaction hazards,” he said.

• Quake road damage in Sarangani hits P21.9 million

“Ang lindol ang hindi nakakamatay. It is the collapse of man-made structures that may claim lives,” he said.

“Kaya pag nagpagawa tayo ng bahay, wag natin tipirin… At kung nakapagpatayo na tayo nang bahay, iretrofit natin ito para maging earthquake resilient,” he added.

Phivolcs’ reminder comes days after a 6.8-magnitude quake jolted parts of Mindanao last week, killing at least 9 people and injuring 15 others.

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