Segismundo, Isabelle 2014-55553

Sir Valera May 17, 2017

Geol 11- Living Dangerously: Initial Assessment of Geohazards in your Hometown

My house is located at Marikina City, in particular in M.H. del Pilar Street, Calumpang.
Calumpang is situated near the Marikina River; Marikina River can be found on the downhill
slope of an area in Calumpang. Along with the Marikina River, the West Valley Fault Line lies in
certain regions of Marikina.

Flooding

The main geological hazard my hometown is facing is flooding. My home isn’t included
in the flood plain of the river but we are close enough that if heavy rains would occur over a long
period of time, there is a risk of the flood reaching our house. Using Google Earth, I found out
that my hometown is roughly 0.3 kilometre away from Marikina River. In addition to the 0.3
kilometre, my house is located on an elevated ground.

The worst case of flooding my hometown experienced was Ondoy. It was a normal rainy
day when Ondoy happened. People in my hometown noticed the long period of rain but they
weren’t alarmed by it. Some of them went to the slope that’s near the Marikina River and they
stayed there monitoring the water levels. On that day, I was just using the computer and
watching some videos online, not caring about the rain. But the rain didn’t stop and the river was
steadily rising. A couple of hours later, the river was almost 20 metres high and it was able to
reach the slope that was in our area. The rain continued on and the floodwater was steadily
increasing; from just being street-walk level, it reached ankle level then it kept on increasing. It
was at that time that we started panicking about what to do, where to go and such. My family
always knew that since we lived in Marikina we would always be prone to flooding but we never
actually experienced flood water reaching the inside of our house. It was the first time the flood
water was able to breach our house and our house was nearly submerged in the flood water by
midnight of Ondoy. By midnight, the water level in our streets was one-story high and some
people were on their roof cooking their dinner. The water receded by the next day but it left thick
layers of mud in every street of our barangay.

After Ondoy, the local government has created measures that seek to reduce the
dangers of flooding. The local government is monitoring daily the water level of Marikina River
using CCTV and by meter rise in water level. They have also developed a 4 stage alarm system
to alert its citizens the water level in the Marikina River; Alarm level one which means that the
water has reached 15 metres, alarm level two which means the water has reached 16 metres,
alarm level three which means that the water has reached 17 metres and alarm level four which
means that the water level has reached above 18 metres. The government has also improved
the different drainage system of the different barangays so that water could easily flow instead
of it being stuck. In addition, the Marikina River is regularly dredged. Rain gauges and water
level sensors are also placed in locations surrounding the River Basin. Major outfalls were
constructed and rehabilitated so that flood waters could recede easier.

The government has also relocated squatters who live along the edges of Marikina
River. They have also declared that the area 96 metres away from the river as an easement
area and residents living in that area were to be relocated. In addition, building of
establishments and structures were no longer allowed within the danger zone of the river. The
government also introduced the Waste Segregation and strictly implemented it to reduce the
amount of trash that could clog up should heavy rains occur.

Earthquakes

Marikina is located near the West Valley Fault Line. The West Valley Fault is part of the
Valley Fault System which is a strike-slip fault system that runs through several cities such as
Marikina, Makati and Quezon City. The West Valley Fault Line can be found in Barangka, an
area near the Marikina River. My house is approximately 1.3 kilometres away from Barangka.
Since Barangka is also near Marikina River, this area is prone to liquefaction. Since my area is
located on an elevated ground and that the fault is a strike-slip, there is no additional danger for
us.

The last earthquake that was felt in our area was the 1990 Luzon Earthquake. No
infrastructures were damaged in our area. Recently, with earthquakes occurring more
frequently, the local government has been raising awareness on what to do should an
earthquake happen. Earthquake drills have been conducted in schools in Marikina and
infographics on what to do have been propagated both online and on public places.

I think it would benefit the citizens of Marikina if the government could hold workshops
on what to do should an earthquake happen and that this should include not only students but
also the housewives and those who stay at home most of the time since they are usually not
included in the earthquake drills. It would also be good to have a check-up on the different
buildings in Marikina so that the inhabitants of the building know if their houses can withstand an
earthquake. Finally, the government should make a map that will show where each barangay
could evacuate should an earthquake happen.

Figure 1 Distance of Marikina River and my house (0.3 km away)

Figure 2: Mitigation Measures: Map of Rain Gauges(Left) and Daily Monitoring(Right)

Figure 3: Distance of West Valley Fault Line and my home(1.3 km)