earthquake!
Saturday, October 21, 2006Three moderate quakes shook Mindoro province late Friday and early Saturday, seismologists said, but there were no reports of damage.
All three quakes had epicenters about 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) northeast of Calapan town but were also felt by residents in Manila, about 140 kilometres (88 miles) away, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said.
A 5.2 quake at 10:30 pm Friday was followed by another of 3.7 at 1:27 am Saturday and a third of 4.7 at 8:09 am, the institute added.
The US Geological Survey, however, measured the quakes at 5.8, 5.6 and 5.5.
Earthquakes of this magnitude are not strong enough to generate a tsunami, the PHIVOLCS said, adding that they did not indicate a bigger quake was coming.
Tsunamis are usually generated by a quake of magnitude of about 7.0, the institute said.
The Philippines is part of the so-called "Ring of Fire" of volcanic islands along the western rim of the Pacific Ocean that sit on unstable earth plates and are prone to earthquakes.
Although about 10 quakes hit the Philippines every day, few are felt. Only three major, destructive tremors have been recorded in more than 30 years, according to the institute. AFP
when the first tremor hit at around 10:30 last night, i was seated in the training room with some of my batchmates. we were chatting when someone (i think it was ella) asked, "lumilindol ba (is there an earthquake)?" we all replied yes, and i panicked a bit because i have this trauma from the 1990 earthquake.
we didn't feel the second one probably because we were all at the smoking area at the ground floor, but the third one we did feel, since we were all in the training room.
i remember the mild quakes of september and october 2004, when i was still working in PS. the first time the earth shook while i was signing up a customer. the second time, i let the sale go because my seatmate (it was audrey, i think) had grabbed my arm and was ready to cry.
some experts say that manila is ripe for the big one. i wonder if this series of earthquakes (mind you, not merely aftershocks of the first but separate instances) is a prelude to the big one. along EDSA, near the MMDA building, i've seen trailers converted into MMDA disaster, uh, preparedness thingies. i don't know what's in those trailers, but i sure hope they can be useful once the big one strikes.
the thought of a strong earthquake scares me, because since it's unpredictable, it could happen while i'm in a bus traversing the ayala underpass, or at work in a high-rise office building. or even at home (thank goodness i have no more ceiling fan in my room) or while walking somewhere. my dad says that buildings designed and put up after the 1990 earthquake were designed to withstand earthquakes of up to intensity 8 or 8.5, which make them actually much safer than the older, pre-1990 buildings that were not retrofitted.
i guess what happens is that the higher the building, the lighter the materials are, so that the building will merely sway with the shaking without necessarily toppling over. which explains why those on the higher floors feel the quake more strongly than those on the ground floor.
i don't know if that fact makes me feel better or scares me more, but as long as the fact comes from an engineer with solid years of experience behind him, i'd believe it.
*****
another thing that's causing a bit of alarm is the threat of terrorism. over the past few days (or weeks, i don't know, i've lost track of time), several explosions have happened in key cities in mindanao, from bombs planted by terrorists (abu sayyaf? jemaah islamiyah? MILF? NPA? i dunno, they're all the same), and the next target could be metropolitan manila and the big cities in the visayas like cebu and bacolod.
in february 2005, the now infamous valentine's day bombing in makati caused enough terror in me to make me not want to take the bus home from SM makati. at that time, my shift ended at 6am but i went home much much later than that. after the bombing i avoided that area for weeks until i could muster enough courage to take a ride from there.
even when the situation had calmed down i was, and still am, very much alert whenever i take public transportation. if it's not a bomb i'm watching out for, it's the snatchers and holduppers. i mean, one never knows. the well-dressed yuppie type sitting next to you on the bus or jeep could be the holdupper or terrorist, and the man in ratty shorts and tshirt is a legitimate and honest-to-goodness construction worker. it's hard to tell by appearances because bad people can dress nicely and then take away your property or even your life. so it pays to be careful, watchful and alert.
and of course, praying also helps.
*****
Am Reading: the exorcist
I Feel: sleepy
