Relocation set for QC residents residing in faultline area

QUEZON CITY, May 1 (PIA) - The Quezon City government has ordered the immediate relocation of 42 families whose houses stand on an area transecting the West Valley Fault Line at Gen. del Pilar St. in Barangay Bagong Silangan.

The QC officials directed the QC disaster risk management council to start sending notices to the affected families to advise them to voluntarily vacate the area, which is more vulnerable to ground rupture and potential landslides should there be an earthquake generated by the fault system.

Aside from the notice, the city government will also be preparing waivers for homeowners resisting the order. “Kung ayaw nilang umalis sa kabila ng ating mga panawagan, marapat lamang na papirmahin natin sila ng waiver na walang sagutin sa kanila ang gobyerno,” QC Mayor Herbert Bautista said.

The city government is set to file an application with the National Housing Authority (NHA) for the relocation of the affected families.

Once vacated, the city intends to plant the area with trees to determine ground and soil movements.

The order for the relocation of the 42 families was based on the recommendation made by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) during an inspection of the traces of the fault line at Barangays Bagong Silangan and Payatas.

To date, the city has already identified at least 900 property owners residing within the five meter- wide buffer zone recommended by PHIVOLCS.

Given the possible extent of the damage that QC would incur during the movement of the fault system, Mayor Bautista ordered the creation of the West Valley Fault Task Group to ensure public safety within the recommended buffer zone.