Yesterday, CNN came up with this report about the possibility of an earthquake(a strong one) hitting Manila next. The government is saying that Manila is not ready for it.
From GMANews.tv: "The Metro Manila Impact Reduction Study conducted in 2004 by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs), the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA), and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) found that the capital is vulnerable to a magnitude-7.2 earthquake that may be generated by the Marikina Fault. The study assessed Metro Manila’s preparedness and estimated that there could be 35,000 fatalities, 500 simultaneous fires in up to 98,000 buildings, and 170,000 structures may collapse in the event of strong temblors."
In the above CNN report, they are saying that there can be as much as 50,000 fatalities.
The Philippines is not new to earthquakes, we've had quite a few that we barely felt but I can still remember the strongest earthquake I have ever experienced 2 decades ago. I was 12, school probably just ended as it happened a little past 4pm. I was already riding my bicycle around our village and I was in the area very close to the grade school I was attending. That happened July 16, 1990. The magnitude: 7.8, but even with that high a magnitude, the death toll was 1,620.
Makes you wonder why the number of fatalities are so extreme even if the earthquake magnitudes that occur in different places are close in range.
Haiti(January 12, 2010) - 7.0 magnitude - 230,000 fatalities
Chile(February 27, 2010) - 8.8 magnitude - 486 fatalities + 70+missing
China(April 13, 2010) - 7.1 magnitude - 2,064 fatalities(not final)
From GMANews.tv: "The Metro Manila Impact Reduction Study conducted in 2004 by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs), the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA), and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) found that the capital is vulnerable to a magnitude-7.2 earthquake that may be generated by the Marikina Fault. The study assessed Metro Manila’s preparedness and estimated that there could be 35,000 fatalities, 500 simultaneous fires in up to 98,000 buildings, and 170,000 structures may collapse in the event of strong temblors."
In the above CNN report, they are saying that there can be as much as 50,000 fatalities.
The Philippines is not new to earthquakes, we've had quite a few that we barely felt but I can still remember the strongest earthquake I have ever experienced 2 decades ago. I was 12, school probably just ended as it happened a little past 4pm. I was already riding my bicycle around our village and I was in the area very close to the grade school I was attending. That happened July 16, 1990. The magnitude: 7.8, but even with that high a magnitude, the death toll was 1,620.
Makes you wonder why the number of fatalities are so extreme even if the earthquake magnitudes that occur in different places are close in range.
Haiti(January 12, 2010) - 7.0 magnitude - 230,000 fatalities
Chile(February 27, 2010) - 8.8 magnitude - 486 fatalities + 70+missing
China(April 13, 2010) - 7.1 magnitude - 2,064 fatalities(not final)
How can a country be ready for an earthquake anyway?
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