The Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (DOST-PHIVOLCS) officially introduced its PHIVOLCS Mindanao Cluster Monitoring Center for Earthquake and Tsunami (PMCMCET) facility on 24 September 2021 through Zoom. A total of 196 participants (118 females and 78 males) from various national and regional government agencies, local government units, academe, and the media attended the virtual inauguration.
The event opened with a welcome message from Mr. Ishmael Narag, Officer-in-Charge (OIC) of the Seismological Observation and Earthquake Prediction Division (SOEPD). DOST Undersecretary and PHIVOLCS OIC Dr. Renato U. Solidum discussed the background of PMCMCET and talked about the features and importance of the facility. Guests DOST Secretary Fortunato De la Peña and Davao City Mayor Sarah Duterte-Carpio lauded the institute for their continued efforts to strengthen the Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR).
Sec. De la Peña and Usec. Solidum were joined by Office of Civil Defense (OCD) XI Director Manolito Orense, Davao City DRRM Chief Officer Alfredo Baloran, and Philippine Science High School-Southern Mindanao Campus Director Dr. Jonald Fenecios during the press conference, InfoSentro sa PHIVOLCS.
The establishment of the PMCMCET in the Davao Seismic Station is one of the Institute’s strategies to ensure service continuity of its national earthquake and tsunami monitoring operations in cases of major disruptions in key operations of the PHIVOLCS Data Receiving Center (DRC) in Quezon City. The cluster center consists of nine (9) staff-controlled seismic stations, 18 satellite-telemetered seismic stations, and 12 sea-level tsunami detection stations, and its alerting stations. It features near real-time display and monitoring of the Philippine Seismic Network, upgraded computer systems for data acquisition and processing, newly installed tools for decision support, mapping, and information dissemination, and servers that are capable of near real-time streaming of seismic waveforms and real-time instrumental intensity reporting. DOST-PHIVOLCS currently has 111 seismic stations in the country and plans to establish more cluster centers in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.
