Development of an on-Site Earthquake Early Warning System for one Private Higher Educational Institution (HEI) and Its Nearby Community in Manila, Philippines

Abstract

The Philippines, an archipelago situated along the Pacific Ring of Fire, has recorded active seismic activities over the recent years. Earthquakes ranked third in terms of occurrence and first in terms of death tolls over the past 20 years with any other types of natural hazards globally. Throughout the history of natural disaster occurrences experienced by Metropolitan Manila, earthquakes pose the greatest threat to life, property, and the economy. Thus, a significant earthquake event in the Capital of the Philippines will greatly affect the nation's economy. Due to earthquake hazards' frequency of occurrence, intensity, and variability in Metropolitan Manila, the government is compelled to adopt disaster risk reduction and management plans. In this study, the proponent developed an On-Site Earthquake Early Warning System (EEWS) with the development of a low-cost seismic monitoring prototype, a web-based earthquake event monitoring system, and a seismic arrival time prediction that can be used in the early detection of arriving seismic waves and could provide an on-site earthquake early warning notification within 3 seconds. Moreover, the overall system integration of various components of the On-Site Earthquake Early Warning System had been proven to be a usable system as a holistic approach in providing proactive earthquake risk preparedness response as agreed by experts and stakeholders. Moreover, establishing a perspective of a more resilient Metropolitan Manila in the event of an earthquake.