The PHIVOLCS Earthquake Intensity Scale (PEIS) is a seismic scale used and developed by the
Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) to measure the
intensity of
earthquakes
An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, fro ...
.
It was developed as upon a specific response to the
1990 Luzon earthquake
The 1990 Luzon earthquake struck the island of Luzon in the Philippines at 4:26 p.m. on July 16 ( PDT) or 3:26 p.m. ( PST) with an estimated moment magnitude of 7.7 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (''Violent'') and produced a ...
. PHIVOLCS cites seismic scale specifically developed for the Philippine setting, the different geography of each country and other "geological considerations" led to the development of PEIS. The scale measures the effect of an earthquake on a given area based on its relative effect to people, structures and objects in the surroundings.
The PEIS was adopted in the Philippines in 1996 replacing the
Rossi-Forel scale.
Scales
The PEIS has ten intensity scales represented in Roman numerals with Intensity I being the weakest and Intensity X being the strongest.
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References
;Public domain sources
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External links
PHIVOLCS Earthquake Intensity Scale
at the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology
{{Seismic scales
Seismic intensity scales
1996 introductions
Geology of the Philippines
Department of Science and Technology (Philippines)