On November 17, the south of Mindanao was shaken by a 7.2-magnitude earthquake. There were several deaths and injuries in the Philippine region. The earthquake also caused part of the ceiling of a large shopping center to collapse, damaged many roads and houses and triggered power outages. The province of Sarangani, where the construction of a hydropower plant in Maasim is currently underway, was also affected. Krah pipes from Krah Pipes Manila are used there, which withstood the earthquake but were damaged by subsequent landslides.

The damage ranged from scratches and deformations to dents, which in some cases made it necessary to dismantle and rebuild the pipeline. The pictures of the damaged pipes illustrate the challenges faced by the construction project.
In order to continue the project and move forward with the construction of the waterworks, the pipes had to be repaired as quickly as possible and some of them had to be re-laid. To this end, the damage was initially divided into different categories. In the Lamlangil area, there was damage such as scratches and dents in the pipes, some of which had to be dismantled and new pipes laid. In the Datalnama area, some pipes could be restored, but some areas also had to be dismantled and re-laid because the damage was too extensive, as was the case in the pit area. There were only scratches and dents at inlet siphon 4.

A work plan was drawn up after the division. This initially included the removal of debris. Then the damaged parts of the pipe were to be cut off and reheated in order to be rejoined with new parts of the pipe. Minor scratches and dents on the outer layer of the pipe were repaired using a hand welding extruder. All the repair work was completed within 5 days thanks to the good preparation and the work plan drawn up beforehand.
On November 19, there was an aftershock at around 3 a.m., which caused further damage in certain areas due to another landslide. This damage was also quickly repaired in two days. It is noteworthy that the Krah pipes themselves withstood the earthquakes, which indicates their exellent resistance to vibrations and pressure. The actual damage to the pipes was caused by the subsequent landslides and debris. Many of the installed pipes were not damaged and are ready for use. Thanks to the hand welding equipment, minor damage could be repaired quickly and easily, either by cutting out the damage and re-welding it tightly with plastic plates, or by repairing smaller holes directly with a weld seam.

It is to be hoped that the region will recover quickly from the effects of the earthquake and that the hydropower plant project can now proceed without further problems. Such events underline the importance of robust and resilient infrastructure, especially in earthquake-prone areas.

Jenny Krämer / Marketing Krah GmbH