Probabilistic Seismic Hazard Analysis (PSHA) of Batangas Province, Philippines

Author: Patrick Adrian Y. Selda, Laurenz Luigi B. Cruz, MSCE, Ulpiano P. Ignacio, Jr. (MSCE), Roy Anthony C. Luna (MSCE), Michael Paolo V. Follosco (MSCE), Flor Angel G. Prelligera, Gian Paulo D. Reyes (MSCE), Karen Joy, R. Leobrera (MSCE), Andrei Raphael P. Dita, and John Jerome B. Sy (MSCE)

Presenter: Patrick Adrian Y. Selda

Batangas is a province in Luzon along the western seaboard of the Philippines, which is constrained by the opposing movements of the Philippine Sea Plate from the east and the Eurasian Plate from the west. Over the past few years, Batangas has experienced positive economic growth as seen with the rise of many facilities and infrastructure. It has also become a well-known tourist destination with beach resorts as its main attraction. Its vicinity is surrounded by several seismic sources (Lubang Fault, Valley Fault System, etc.), and its coastal region is directly above some of the deeper portions of the Manila Trench. Furthermore, the need for industries and investors, eyeing opportunities in the coastal region of Batangas, to make informed plans and decisions is paramount to mitigate the risks brought about by earthquakes, thus reducing casualties, injuries, and property damage.

Probabilistic Seismic Hazard Analysis (PSHA) is currently the most widely-adopted approach for describing seismic hazard, as it simultaneously takes several uncertainties (occurrence, magnitude, location, and ground shaking intensity) into consideration. From PSHA, uniform hazard response spectra with associated rates of exceedance are generated. At present, Filipino designers typically adopt the seismic provisions from the National Structural Code of the Philippines (NSCP). Unfortunately, the NSCP still utilizes the national-scale response spectrum in 1994. This study reports the steps undertaken in conducting PSHA in the coastal region of Batangas using more recently developed Ground Motion Prediction Equations (GMPE’s) and presents the response spectra considering both rock and stiff soil profile sites at different damping ratios.

Conference/s:

7th Asia Conference on Earthquake Engineering (2018) – Bangkok, Thailand

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