Victorias Mayor Javier Miguel “Javi” Benitez said on Sunday, August 27, that classes will resume at the Negros Occidental National Science High School (NONSHS) on Tuesday, after they were suspended late last week when tremors were felt in the area.
Strong tremors were felt in barangays 10 and 14 in Victorias City on August 24 and 25 but the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said it had not recorded any earthquakes in the area.
Benitez has asked the PHIVOLCS, Mines and Geosciences Bureau, and the Department of Public Works and Highways to investigate what caused the tremors and to check on the safety of classrooms.
Classes at the NONSHS were suspended late last week, but Benitez said “on Tuesday, there will be classes but the students won’t occupy the two new buildings that were affected by the tremors. The old buildings are also far enough from the new ones.”
Cracks were seen on the walls of classrooms in the new school buildings.
The Victorias City Engineer’s Office, Bureau of Fire Protection and City Risk Reduction Management Office in a joint report to Benitez on Friday said the buildings of concern are the two recently completed and unoccupied junior and senior high school buildings at the rear of the NONSHS campus and part of the original main building.
“It is suspected that the earth tremors may be localized ground movements, which can be disastrous if not determined”, their report said.
They recommended that the junior and senior high school buildings not be occupied yet.
It appears that the buildings have not been officially turned over to the NONSHS and occupancy permits have not been obtained, the report said.
They also recommended that the campus be cleared of heavy vegetation to allow inspection of the grounds for signs of movement or fissures, and that a thorough survey of the second floor of the old main building be conducted.
The flooring of the second floor of the old main building has several random cracks that appear to be old and partially repaired, the report said.
“Externally there was no evidence of vertical or lateral movement of the structures…There were no significant cracks on the beams, columns or walls or signs of separation of the wall from the main structural members. No ground settlement or fissures were observed around the buildings although areas at the rear of the campus were not observable due to heavy vegetation”, the report also said.
It was recommended that the cracks on the walls and columns be measured and recorded to determine if they will expand over time.
The report also recommended that engineers from the Department of Public Works and Highways and the Department of Education who implemented the projects be involved in the investigation.*