Phivolcs launches earthquake safety home self-check app

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Illustration for How Safe is My House (Phivolcs/Facebook)

On the 31st anniversary of the 1990 Luzon 7.8 Magnitude earthquake last July 16, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs – DOST) launched a mobile application that can assess the vulnerability of homes to strong earthquakes.

“Earthquakes in and of themselves do not kill people, and building collapses do,” said Renato Solidum Jr., Undersecretary of Qatar’s Ministry of Science and Technology.

It’s called “How safe is my home?” This application provides a simple and easy to use tool for owners and occupants of apartment houses and other one to two storey concrete brick homes.

Users will have to answer 12 questions on the app and these are:

Who built or designed my house How old is my house Has my house been damaged by earthquakes or past disasters? What is my house like? Has my home been extended or expanded? Are the exterior walls of my house 6″ (150mm) CHB? Are steel bars of standard size and spacing used in walls? Are there unreinforced walls more than 3 meters wide? What is a gable in my house? What is the foundation of my house? What is the condition of the soil? Under my house What is the general condition of the house?

After the survey is completed, a registration sheet will appear on the app showing the assessment of the home during the earthquake.

The result determines whether the structure is safe and supposedly built according to standard construction procedures. If not, he may recommend further professional consultation and necessary structural reinforcement.

A score of 11 to 12 means the house is well built, 10 to 8 needs strengthening, and 7 below indicates that the house is prone to strong earthquakes.

Solidum pointed out that the strength of the house depends on the way it is built and not on the height of the structure.

“If the structure is not designed and constructed properly and does not use the appropriate materials, it can be affected by a strong earthquake whether it is one-story, two-story or higher,” he said.

In 2014, Phivolcs DOST collaborated with the National Research Institute for Geosciences and Disaster Resilience (NIED), the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Japan Science and Technology (JST), and the Association of Structural Engineers of the Philippines (ASEP), to develop a questionnaire aimed at assessing home safety in Philippines.

“How safe is my house?” It can be accessed for free on the Google Play Store or through the website https://howsafeismyhouse.phivolcs.dost.gov.ph/

Phivolcs has also launched a DOST-funded 3D Philippines program that will provide surface and subsurface data visualization and analysis in the Philippines.

The program will also help local government units, engineers and developers consider the risks surrounding the building through Hazard Hunter PH.

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