Earthquake damage assessment software

By Aileen Alcos
MediaCore, PCIERD

A team of scientists at the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology designed a software to assess an earthquake's extent of damage rapidly.  The software called “Rapid Earthquake Damage Assessment System” or REDAS was developed through Department of Science and Technology's grants-in-aid program and supported by the Philippine Council for Industry and Energy Research and Development.       

Many scientists, disaster managers, rescue teams, and other stakeholders realized there are a lot of lessons to learn from the July 16, 1990 earthquake that shocked Northern Luzon.  Chief is the need to quickly obtain reliable information about an earthquake's effects and extent of damage so that authorities could focus resources in areas in urgent need.

The monster quake's damage underscored the importance of proactive action to prevent loss of lives and properties in terms of early warning and appropriate land use planning.

Hours after the 7.8-intensity earthquake rolled, authorities found it difficult to obtain information about the extent of damage.  Most telecommunication systems were either severely damaged or clogged with heavy communication traffic from people inquiring about the safety of relatives and friends.

Baguio, one of the hardest hit cities, was isolated from the rest of the country due to massive landslides blocking roads and access routes to the summer capital.   Even the city's airport was unusable for weeks due to severe liquefaction.

The REDAS was conceptualized to prevent a similar breakdown in the future.  The software is a simulation tool that can rapidly estimate possible earthquake hazards and impacts to population, buildings, lifelines, road networks, and other elements at risk.

REDAS is a highly useful PHIVOLCS tool to generate critical information that could guide civil defense officials and disaster managers for quick, timely, and reliable decisions in deploying rescue and relief operations. 

Meanwhile, land use planners, policy makers and city planners can also use this tool to consider hazards in planning and development efforts.

The development of REDAS shows that Filipino scientists are capable of developing an ingenuous and comparatively sophisticated system for rapid seismic hazard assessment at far less cost compared to similar software developed in other countries.  The software is adapted to Philippine setting.