Houses and other structures in Bogo City collapsed after a magnitude 6.9 earthquake shook the northern section of Cebu province on Sept 30. — Cebu People’s Action Center/Facebook
MANILA: Most houses in the country would not withstand a strong earthquake as these structures are often built with substandard materials and usually without the help of professionals, according to an expert at the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs).
Recent calamities have shown that most houses tend to collapse or at least sustain damage because homeowners hire only laborers, instead of licensed engineers or architects, whose knowledge and training are crucial to building homes.
