Philippines: Mining or Food?G_Geohazards... · Annex G: Geohazards and Earthquakes1 in the Philippines Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without

250

Philippines: Mining or Food?

by

Robert Goodland and Clive Wicks

for

The Working Group on Mining in the Philippines

Annex G: Geohazards and Earthquakes1 in the Philippines

Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present

without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own

needs The Brundtland Report, Our Common Future,

UN World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987

In a world overflowing with riches, it is an outrageous scandal that more than

826 million people suffer hunger and malnutrition and that every year over 36

million die of starvation and related causes. We must take urgent action now. Jean Ziegler

UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, April 2001

Disclaimer

The views expressed in this report are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the participating or supporting organizations. The authors have, however, done their utmost to reflect the views of the many people they met in the Philippines and the views and reports of the people and organizations who have commented on earlier drafts if this report.

DEDICATION

The Working Group on Mining in the Philippines and the authors respectfully dedicate this report to all the courageous and dignified people who have been killed while protecting the environment and upholding human rights in the

Philippine archipelago.

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Annex G: Geohazards and Earthquakes2 in the Philippines Playing with Fire

2 For important information on Earthquake Hazards visit the U.S. Geological Survey Earthquake Hazards Program at http://earthquake.usgs.gov/regional/world/index.php?regionID=19 For Earthquake Facts see http://earthquake.usgs.gov/learning/

“The majority of the earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur along plate

boundaries such as the boundary between the Pacific Plate and the North

American plate. One of the most active plate boundaries where earthquakes and

eruptions are frequent, for example, is around the massive Pacific Plate

commonly referred to as the Pacific Ring of Fire.” The Philippines are part of

the Pacific “Ring of Fire” http://earthquake.usgs.gov/learning/

252

Geohazards and Earthquakes3 in the Philippines

The Philippine archipelago of more than 7100 islands lies along the so-called Pacific "Ring of Fire," encircling the basin of the Pacific Ocean, where earthquakes and volcanic activities are common. The Ring of Fire has 452 volcanoes and is home to over 75% of the world’s active and dormant volcanoes. Ninety percent of the world’s earthquakes and 80% of the world’s largest earthquakes occur along the Ring of Fire. This is a direct result and consequence of plate tectonics and the movement and collisions of crustal plates.

Philippine earthquakes in recent years have included one in Mindoro on 8 October 2004 and several in Mindanao, the latest being on 14 October 2008. The earthquake in Mindanao on 5 March 2002 killed at least 15 people and injured 100 more, with 800 buildings damaged or destroyed in southern and central Mindanao. In South Cotabato Province, landslides caused by this earthquake breached the crater wall of Parker Volcano and fell into Maughan Lake, creating a flood which washed away houses and flooded nine sub-districts. Local tsunamis with heights estimated at three meters were registered. On 16 July 1990 a severe earthquake registering 7.7 on the Richter scale struck the northern Philippines. The earthquake caused damage over a region of about 7700 square miles, extending northwest from Manila through the densely populated Central Plains of Luzon and into the mountains of the Cordillera Central. Over 5,000 people were reported dead or injured, and in excess of 2300 infrastructures were either destroyed or seriously damaged.

Most of the Philippine islands are volcanic in origin. The Philippines is crossed by a number of tectonic faults which include Lingayen-Dingalan, West Luzon Shear Zone, Philippine Fault, along with several fracture zones. West of the Philippines, in the South China Sea, lies the Manila Trench, which is an eastward-moving subduction that has created a 900 km long volcanic belt from Taiwan to Mindoro. There are 37 volcanoes in the Philippines, of which 18 are still active. This means that an eruption occurred in the last decade and that a new eruption can be expected in the near future. The country has some of the world's most dangerous volcanoes, and Mount Pinatubo’s eruption in 1991 created the second largest eruption of the 20th century. Taal and Mayon volcanos create dangerous eruptions periodically.

Nationally, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology monitors the activities of volcanoes, earthquakes and tsunamis, as well as being mandated to mitigate disasters when any of them occur and promote sustainable development. The Institute also runs natural disaster risk reduction programmes which incorporate land use planning and information dissemination regarding potential hazards in areas near to active volcanoes. Large-scale mining is clearly an issue to be considered in such programmes.

The Mines and Geosciences Bureau of the Philippines (MGB) is now conducting a geohazard mapping program which began in 2006 and is expected to finish by the year 2010. This is in line with the recent Presidential directive and National Disaster

3 For important information on Earthquake Hazards visit the U.S. Geological Survey Earthquake Hazards Program at http://earthquake.usgs.gov/regional/world/index.php?regionID=19 For Earthquake Facts see http://earthquake.usgs.gov/learning/

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Coordinating Council (NDCC) Resolutions to fast track the geohazards mapping programs along the eastern seaboard of the country. Funding of PHP60 million ($1,260,000) has been set aside for this purpose. In is a fact that most parts of the Philippines is vunerable to geohazards, often contributing to the increasing number of so-called natural disasters.

The main objective of this program is to identify areas in the country that are vulnerable to various geohazards. Examples of geohazard phenomena are the impacts of heavy rains causing floods and landslides, deforestation impacts, volcanic eruptions and earthquakes. Specialized maps are being produced which contain information on the locations of the barangay centers and susceptibility to rain-induced landslides. Information will be made available to authorities responsible for infrastructure, land use planning and disaster-preparedness. In Region 9, this program has already been completed in more than 25 municipalities since this was initiated in 2006. Eighteen geologists were deployed from the MGB Central Office and MGB Regional Office No IX, to undertake programs in the critical barangays in Zamboanga del Sur on Mindanao.

Induced seismic activity

Induced seismicity refers to earthquakes and tremors that are caused by human activity. These can alter the stresses and strains on the Earth's crust. Induced seismicity in connection with ore mining has been reported for at least 100 years.

The reason the authors were worried is that mining can leave voids in the ground and these can alter the balance of forces in the rock. If voids collapse they can produce seismic waves and reactivate existing faults causing earthquakes.

The authors were concerned that many of the mining operations in the Philippines are proposed in areas of high seismic activity particularly near to fault lines and they questioned mining companies about induced seismic activity that might be caused by their operations. The companies did not seem to know much about it and the authors remain very concerned about the potential impact on induced seismic activity.

In 1996 the Environmental Impact Statement System (EIS)[DAO 96-37], was established under Presidential Decree (PD) No. 1586, Establishing an Environmental

Impact Statement System, Including Other Environmental Management Related

Measures and for other Purposes stipulates additional requirements. These were a Health Impact Assessment and an Engineering Geological and Geohazard

Assessment for applications covering housing and other land development and infrastructure projects. “Recently the Government has announced its interest on reducing the procedures and

norms for environmental permissions. The DENR Secretary described them in

October 2004 as ‘obstacles for private investment to the country’. This deregulatory

approach could be considered positively if the idea is only to simplify the complexity

of the current permissions system. But is seems that what the DENR is looking for is

more to remove norms – rather than only to speed up the permissions - to attract

more investors.” European Commission’s report,

The Philippines Country Environmental Profile. 2005

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“Mindanao Experienced 19 Quakes in 2 Weeks” 4

A 2008 newspaper report from Davao City’s Sun.Star stated that “Central and Southern Mindanao regions experienced a total of 19 earthquakes from the period of March 3 to 22, with the strongest magnitude registering at 5.3 in the Richter scale and epicentre located 153 kilometres southeast of the City of Mati, Davao Oriental”. Mati, is the area where BHP Billiton Hallmark mining project is located. To the west of this is where Xstrata intends to exploit copper and gold in the Tampakan area. The report states that “All quakes were tectonic in origin, meaning these were caused by the movement of the earth's crust. There are two major causes of earthquakes: tectonic and volcanic. Tectonic has to do with the movement of the earth's crust while volcanic has something to do with activities inside a volcano.” The Philippines are plagued with both earthquakes and volcanos. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs), from which we mined the data for this report, stated that “The tremor was measured at magnitude 4.3 and was felt at Intensity 2 in Caraga and Cateel, Davao Oriental”. “Kidapawan City registered the most number of tremors at 16 incidents from March 11 to 19. March 13 had the most incidents with 11 earthquakes in just a period of one day. Kidapawan quakes registered from 1.8 to 4.7 magnitudes. The latest quake in Kidapawan City was on March 19 with 4.0 magnitude”. Kidapawan is in the vicinity of the Tampakan mine. Phivolcs officials earlier said that Kidapawan had been experiencing the "swarm" of tremors but they consider this good since pressure underneath is slowly released. (Sun.Star Davao/Sunnex) 19 Earthquakes (tectonic) from March 3 – 22, 2008 ©Sun.Star

Table 1. Destructive Earthquakes in the Philippines

4 “19 Earthquakes in two weeks” Ben O. Tesiorna Wednesday, March 26, 2008 http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/net/2008/03/26/mindanao.experienced.19.quakes.in.2.weeks.html

Date Magnitude (Ms) Location

2003 Feb 15 6.2 Masbate Earthquake

2002 Mar 06 6.8 Palimbang Earthquake

1999 Jun 07 5.1 Bayugan Earthquake

1999 Jun 07 5.1 Bayugan Earthquake

1996 May 27 5.6 Bohol Earthquake

1994 Nov 15 7.1 Mindoro Earthquake

1990 Jul 16 7.9 Luzon Earthquake

1990 Jun 14 7.1 Panay Earthquake

1990 Feb 08 6.8 Bohol Earthquake

1983 Aug 17 6.5 Laoag Earthquake

1976 Aug 17 7.9 Moro Gulf Earthquake

1973 Mar 17 7 Ragay Gulf Earthquake

1968 Aug 02 7.3 Casiguran Earthquake

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Table5 2 Earthquakes in the Tampakan proposed mine area

Date

Time

(Local)

Epicentre

(Lattitude, Longitude)

Depth

(km)

Magnitude

(Ms) Location

23/10/2008 5:21 PM 05.70ºN, 125.92ºE 108 5.3 95 km S 61°E of General Santos City

06/10/2008 8:13 AM 07.29ºN, 125.14ºE 1 3.5 31 km N 10°E of Kidapawan City (Nth Cotabato)

18/09/2008 7:41 AM 06.27ºN, 125.32ºE 91 3.9 24 km N 44°E of General Santos City

13/08/2008 7:06 AM 05.90ºN, 125.09ºE 25 3.5 25 km S 21°W of General Santos City

11/07/2008 1:32 AM 06.46ºN, 124.41ºE 1 5.2 33 km S 3 W of Isulan (Sultan Kudarat)

11/06/2008 4:37 PM 06.43ºN, 126.06ºE 63 5.1 66 km S 66°W of Isulan (Sultan Kudarat)

10/06/2008 3:44 PM 04.93ºN, 126.52ºE 163 5 199 km S 49°E of General Santos City

17/05/2008 10:17 PM 05.83ºN, 125.27ºE 98 5 33 km S 19° E of General Santos City

22/03/2008 1:53 PM 04.04ºN, 125.86ºE 135 4.3 242 km S 18°E of General Santos City

20/03/2008 10:10 PM 05.95ºN, 126.86ºE 43 5.3 131 km S 34°E of Mati (Davao Oriental)

19/03/2008 8:31 PM 07.03ºN, 125.17ºE 2 4 09 km N 78°W of Kidapawan City (Nth Cotabato)

15/03/2008 6:37 AM 07.00ºN, 125.15ºE 4 3.8 06 km S 78°W of Kidapawan City (Nth Cotabato)

14/03/2008 10:01 PM 06.93ºN, 125.16ºE 3 3.5 12 km S 39°E of Kidapawan City (Nth Cotabato)



13/03/2008 9:27 PM 07.01ºN, 125.23ºE 1 2.2 15 km N 88°E of Kidapawan City (Nth Cotabato)



13/03/2008 8:48 PM 07.01ºN, 125.18ºE 16 3.7 10 km N 89°E of Kidapawan City (Nth Cotabato)


13/03/2008 7:24 PM 06.96ºN, 125.19ºE 1 3 12 km S 65°E of Kidapawan City (Nth Cotabato)



13/03/2008 3:08 PM 07.64ºN, 126.61ºE 41 4.3 89 km N 72°E of Tagum (Davao)

12/03/2008 6:18 AM 06.99ºN, 125.03ºE 7 4.7 07 km S 72°W of Kidapawan City (Nth Cotabato)

11/03/2008 2:31 AM 07.03ºN, 125.24ºE 3 3.4 17 km N 81°E of Kidapawan City (Nth Cotabato)

17/02/2008 4:57 AM 07.27ºN, 123.65ºE 22 3.8 62 km N 83° W of Cotabato City

27/09/2007 6:34 PM 06.95ºN, 125.09ºE 16 2.9 07 km S 2° E of Kidapawan City (Nth Cotabato)

17/09/2007 10:31 PM 05.52ºN, 126.00ºE 75.0 4.7 113 km S 54° E of General Santos City


07/09/2007 9:22 AM 06.94ºN, 125.12ºE 12 2.4 8 km S 21° E of Kidapawan City (Nth Cotabato)

07/09/2007 4:20 AM 05.64ºN, 125.56ºE 60.0 4.7 68m S 40° E of General Santos City

04/09/2007 2:34 PM 07.14ºN, 125.27ºE 1 2.9 25 km N 53° E of Kidapawan City (Nth Cotabato)

21/08/2007 4:40 PM 06.93°N, 125.11°E 10 3.0 9 km S 11° E of Kidapawan City (Nth Cotabato)

21/08/2007 7:04 AM 05.03°N, 124.13°E 38 4.0 167 km S 44° W of General Santos City



18/08/2007 10:11 AM 06.97°N, 125.19°E 7 2.8 12 km S 67° E of Kidapawan City (Nth Cotabato)



17/07/2007 12:13 AM 05.63ºN, 125.67ºE 67 3.5 77 km S 46° E of General Santos City

27/06/2007 4:36 AM 05.41ºN, 125.06ºE 10.0 4.6 79 km S 9° W of General Santos City

25/06/2007 1:28 PM 06.65ºN, 123.65ºE 27.0 4.7 87 km S 45°W of Cotabato City

10/05/2007 5:14 AM 05.05ºN, 124.24ºE 33 4.0 157 km S 41°W of General Santos City

16/03/2007 8:11 AM 06.30ºN, 125.60ºE 17 3.7 52 km N 66°E of General Santos City


19/02/2007 7:13 PM 05.97ºN, 126.01ºE 38.0 4.7 95 km S 80°E of General Santos City


28/01/2007 12:47 PM 05.89ºN, 124.80ºE 7 3.4 47 km S 59°W of General Santos City

05/01/2007 10:41 AM 07.14ºN, 123.64ºE 20 4.1 62 km S 84°W of Cotabato City (Cotabato)

24/12/2006 9:32 AM 06.30ºN, 125.38ºE 114.0 5.1 32 km N 48°E of General Santos City


12/12/2006 11:02 AM 07.21ºN, 125.31ºE 30 2.7 32 km N 47° E of Kidapawan City (Nth Cotabato)

29/11/2006 8:47 AM 05.47ºN 124.02ºE 75.0 5.3 146 km S 61°W of General Santos City

25/11/2006 1:54 AM 07.40ºN, 124.86ºE 4.0 4.6 50 km N 31°W of Kidapawan City (Nth Cotabato)

15/11/2006 11:52 AM 04.29ºN, 127.53ºE 31.0 5.1 332 km S 52°E of General Santos City

14/11/2006 6:48 PM 06.55ºN, 123.67ºE 4.0 5.3 93 km S 39°W of Cotabato City


09/08/2006 5:25 AM 07.27ºN, 123.95ºE 30 3.2 29 km N 76° W of Cotabato City



09/12/2005 9:01 AM 05.44ºN, 125.58ºE 26 4 88 km S 31° E of General Santos City

01/12/2005 1:18 AM 06.46ºN, 123.79ºE 17 3.4 93 km S 75° W of Isulan (Sultan Kudarat)

01/12/2005 1:14 AM 06.45ºN, 123.81ºE 7 3.4 92 km S 74° W of Isulan (Sultan Kudarat)

01/12/2005 12:53 AM 05.83ºN, 123.67ºE 33.0 5.7 140 km S 48° W of Isulan (Sultan Kudarat)

30/11/2005 9:33 AM 06.37ºN, 123.90ºE 12 4 85 km S 67° W of Isulan (Sultan Kudarat)


07/10/2005 1:42 PM 06.18ºN, 123.68ºE 51 4.5 117 km S 62° W of Isulan (Sultan Kudarat)


22/04/2005 3:41 PM 05.35ºN, 125.71ºE 4 4 104 km S 50° W of Isulan (Sultan Kudarat)

21/04/2005 6:43 AM 06.27ºN, 124.12ºE 27 4.4 70 km S 35° E of General Santos City


05/02/2005 8:23 PM 05.32ºN, 123.12ºE 578.4 7 223 km S 47° W of Isulan (Sultan Kudarat)

5 Seismic data extrapolated by Frank Nally and Sarah Gallagher on 20 April 2008 and also October 2008 from http://www.phivolcs.dost.gov.ph/update_SOEPD/EQLatest.html . Data transferred to graphs by Cathal Doyle.

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Table 3 Showing strong Earthquake activity that could affect the Nickel and

Cobalt Proposed Mining Projects

Earthquakes in Davao Oriental The Hallmark Project (BHP Billiton) area

Date Time

Epicentre:

Lattitude, Longitude Depth Magnitude Location

13/09/2008 6:46 AM 08.29ºN, 127.03ºE 33 3.5 127 km S 46°E of Tandag (Surigao del Sur)

13/09/2008 6:46 AM 08.29ºN, 127.03ºE 33 3.5 127 km S 46°E of Tandag (Surigao del Sur)

05/09/2008 7:07 AM 07.45ºN, 126.34ºE 64 2.7 55 km N 83°E of Tagum (Davao)




16/05/2008 8:57 PM 06.49ºN, 125.65ºE 91 5.3 43 km SE of of Digos (Davao del Sur)




20/08/2007 9:46 PM 06.09ºN, 127.90ºE 10 6.6 209 km S 63° E of Mati Davao Oriental

25/04/2007 7:52 PM 07.13ºN, 126.59ºE 61 5.2 48 km N 62°E of Mati (Davao Oriental)

26/03/2007 7:17 PM 06.65ºN, 126.17ºE 33 3.2 31 km S 9 W°E of Mati (Davao Oriental)

12/12/2006 5:37 PM 06.54ºN, 126.21ºE 74 4.2 44 km S 0° E of Mati (Davao Oriental)


03/10/2006 9:41 PM 06.74ºN, 126.14ºE 74 3.7 22 km S 20° W of Mati (Davao Oriental)

05/09/2006 12:52 PM 07.54ºN, 126.65ºE 130 4.3 83 km N 36° E Mati (Davao Oriental)

21/04/2006 10:22 PM 07.09ºN, 125.68ºE 66 3.8 8 km S 82° E of Davao City

19/02/2006 8:49 AM 06.19ºN, 125.95ºE 120 4.8 91 km S 45° E of Digos (Davao del Sur)

23/01/2006 10:19 PM 06.08ºN, 126.58ºE 96 4.4 103 km S 23° E of Mati (Davao Oriental)

20/11/2005 1:55 AM 06.64ºN, 125.72ºE 18 5.4 41 km S 70° E of DIGOS (Davao del Sur)

17/08/2005 7:57 AM 06.46ºN, 126.30ºE 29 3.9 53 km S 11° E of MATI (Davao Oriental)

08/06/2005 7:52 AM 07.67ºN, 126.50ºE 1 4.3 79 km N 66° E of TAGUM (Davao)

19/05/2005 10:17 PM 06.32ºN, 125.77ºE 127 5.2 66 km S 41° E of DIGOS (Davao del Sur)

20/03/2005 8:40 AM 07.61ºN, 126.57ºE 70 4.5 84 km N 73° E of TAGUM (Davao)

25/01/2005 10:48 AM 07.19ºN, 126.09ºE 10 3.4 32 km N 26° W of MATI (Davao)

Table 4 Earthquake affecting Mindoro Island The Intex Mining Project

Date Time Depth

Magnitude

(Ms) Location Occidental Mindoro

19/10/08 08:40 PM 13.58ºN 120.66ºE 113.0 3.4 40 km N 11°E of Mamburao (Occ. Mindoro)

12/10/08 04:30 PM 13.42ºN 120.32ºE 008.0 4.1 37 km N 54°W of Mamburao (Occ. Mindoro)





02/10/08 02:04 AM 13.28ºN 120.22ºE 094.0 5.3 42 km N 82°W of Mamburao (Occ. Mindoro)

01/10/08 08:22 PM 13.33º N 120.33ºE 068.0 3.0 32 km N 69°W of Mamburao (Occ. Mindoro)


29/09/08 04:28 AM 13.35º N 120.35ºE 023.0 4.5 30 km N 63°W of Mamburao (Occ. Mindoro)






01/08/08 06:35 PM 13.58 N 120.66ºE 017.0 5.3 40 km N 11°E of Mamburao (Occ. Mindoro)


21/05/08 12:51 PM 13.06º N 120.80ºE 017.0 2.8 30 km S 50°E of Mamburao (Occ. Mindoro)

18/05/08 12:06 AM 13.03º N 120.84ºE 015.0 4.0 35 km S 51°E of Mamburao (Occ. Mindoro)

Epicentre:

Lattitude, Longitude

258

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Philippines: Mining or Food?G_Geohazards... · Annex G: Geohazards and Earthquakes1 in the Philippines Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without

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