Repost: On Earthquakes and Disaster Preparedness

Recently, news reports on the possible earthquake that could be triggered by the Philippine west valley fault line was the headline.  The Philippine Volcanology and Seismology (PhilVols) even provided us a downloadable Valley Fault System Atlas for the Greater Manila Area to give us vital information that will help us plan for an earthquake.  We would never know when it is going to happen but it helps to be prepared.  With that in mind, I dug up an old blog post from March 27, 2010 to share with you again...

I was in the middle of a meeting last Thursday when I suddenly felt dizzy. “Oh my, not another bout of headache…” I thought to myself but then some seconds later, each of us seem to be feeling the same asking each other if they felt it too. It was an earthquake which we later found out to be intensity 6.1 with epicenter at the sea west of Manila which is some kilometers away from our office.

This is another earthquake to hit the country on the same month with no less than 6.0 magnitude, the other one happened at the time when President Gloria Arroyo was delivering her speech in Tuguegarao City last March 2 with a magnitude 6.1. We are just lucky and thankful that the earthquake’s intensity never gets greater and the shaking did not take longer than what our structures could hold.

Just weeks ago, I attended a seminar, although it was not about earthquake, the instructor shared with us a vital piece of information about the ripple effect of the Haiti, Turkey and Chile earthquake which all happened this 2010. He even asked us if we already “tied” our houses tightly (“tinali nyo na ba ang bahay nyo?” that is a jargon in Filipino when you want to emphasize to disaster-proof a house in preparation for a calamity). He went on to say that he was not joking when he asked us that because he said that there were already patterns being studied regarding how the earthquake from one country affects another stating that earthquakes cause the earth’s plates to move thus creating different fault systems. He was also referring to the re-issued warning by the United Nations about a probable earthquake with a magnitude of about 7 to 8 that could strike the nation's capital region.

In news report regarding the February 27 earthquake in Chile with a magnitude of 8.8 and lasted 90 seconds, it stated that according to seismologist the incident may have shortened the length of the day by 1.26 microseconds and moved the Earth's figure axis by 8 cm. I wonder if there is a correlation between the change in the earth’s figure axis and the slight change in the sun’s position because I noticed that the angle of the sun’s ray inside my room seem to have changed slightly or is the sun’s angle really changing depending on the time of the year? Take a moment to study the attached picture which I took on two different dates but the same location and almost the same time.

I am really clueless because we were only taught that the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, PERIOD. Maybe in some other highly technical and scientific courses dealing with the study of heavenly bodies they were taught about that. Anyway, at least it is still rising in the east no matter what angle it is and I still see the light of day each morning I wake up. I remember I had an odd dream about this last February that the sun was no longer rising in the east but somewhere in the north and it looked like it was turning red, it’s golden glow was slowly fading. I was awakened by that dream and when I opened my eyes, I looked out the window and boy, was I thankful that I saw the golden light above? DEFINITELY!

Also in February, I attended another seminar about disaster readiness and we also had a fire drill in our office which is in preparation for the fire-prevention month but since the country is predisposed to different catastrophe such as typhoon, flash flood, volcanic eruption (just imagine living within the ring of fire), earthquake and tsunami these were also included in the discussion. These are just some of those things I learned from that seminar which I would like to share with you

1. In whatever circumstance, it is best to stay calm and have a presence of mind as panicking may only trigger more accidents.
2. It is not advisable to use the elevator especially during fire or earthquake as one may get trapped inside so the best is to use the nearest stairway exit.
3. As much as possible steer clear from glass windows or glass doors as common sense dictates that it is extremely dangerous since you might get injured when such glass break down.
4. At the onset of an earthquake, it is best to keep all entry and exit ways open thus one must take the initiative to ensure that doors or windows be opened the best way possible but during fire, a closed door should not be opened haphazardly. It is wise to touch test the door handle or the door itself before opening it to ensure that it is safe to access because a room on fire behind a closed door will most likely trigger a deadly backdraft once you open its door.
5. We were also taught that since our office is nearby the harbor, earthquake may trigger a tsunami thus people’s evacuation movement should be up towards the highest floor in the building, the same is true during flashflood whereas during fire it should be a downward movement whenever possible so that fire rescuers will not a have a difficult time reaching you.
6. Though you may find it useless for now, but a whistle and a flashlight is a very necessary tool when calamities strike thus it helps when you have one stored in your drawer and remember to take it with you at the onset of disaster. That will surely be needed when you are trapped in the middle of nowhere as these may be used to lead rescuers to where you are. Just remember Rose in the movie Titanic where she was rescued in the middle of the ocean alongside a pool of dead bodies with the help of a handy dandy whistle.

So there, wish you get something useful to share with others too. I hope company owners will take the initiative to engage in disaster readiness to make them prepared and to prevent possible loss of lives and further property damage. May we all be safe.

Giving Back to Red Cross

 Today is WORLD RED CROSS AND RED CRESCENT DAY.

I read lots of interesting facts about red cross and in many times in my life, I have been served by Red Cross during crucial times.  One of those incidents was when my son was hospitalized due to Dengue.  It was past midnight when his platelet count dropped that almost killed him.  The doctor advised for an emergency blood transfusion but at that time there was no available supply at the hospital.  We needed to go directly to the Red Cross office at the Port Area.  With the request provided by the doctor, my husband and brother in law went there and luckily, the staff gave them what was needed. Because of that, my son survived the deadly Dengue.  I am so grateful to Red Cross that it made me understand its principles better.  Its seven fundamental principles are; humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary service, unity and universality.  Armed with his own personal experience and guided by its principles, my son became a member of Red Cross.  Just a way to show support to an organization that was instrument for his second chance at life.

Today, as a way of thanking this institution, I decided to post about Red Cross to promote its cause.  We can help this institution through different ways such as giving donation, promoting its cause or volunteering to its different activities and programs. In the Philippines, we can become a Red Cross 143 volunteer. Red Cross 143 is a program of Philipine Red Cross that aims to promote citizens' involvement in taking care of its community.  It promotes learning in disaster preparedness and responsiveness in the barangay level.  Its goal is to create a network of volunteers that shall be mobilized to respond immediately in times of calamity or disaster.

To know more on how to become a Red Cross 143 volunteer, you can visit the local chapters near your residence or you may call 02-5270000 for more information.

Extending Help to Typhoon Victims

Its been days that I have been hearing and watching disheartening news about the calamity that hit Cagayan de Oro, Iligan and other parts of Mindanao.   The scene reminds me of the Ondoy disaster that hit Metro Manila in 2009.  It was on the night of December 16, 2011 when typhoon Sendong (with international name Washi) affected the areas with heavy rainfall causing massive floods.  As of this writing, the death toll has reached more than 700 and several hundred more were missing.  Based on the report from Philippine Red Cross, drowning was the main cause of death.  Raging floodwater cascaded from mountains that inundated rivers and ravaged the homes of the residents.  News evidently showed illegal logging activities as one of the culprit in this flash floods as dead bodies were pulled underneath mud and piles of logs.  We have been taught how important trees are, that without enough trees to hold the water from the mountains, there is really a very high risk of flash floods.   An unusually heavy rainfall was also recorded which could be attributed to the effects of climate change.  It is so sad that we have to go through another calamity like this one, another lesson we have to learn the hard way.  I wonder if we really learn from it all or if we really take the lesson by heart.

The damage has already been done and worthless deaths have already been included in the statistics, all we could do for now is to help those who are affected by this disaster.  While thinking of the best way to help them,  I  received an advisory from my mobile network on how Globe subscribers can extend their help.   Globe subscribers can give donation to the victims of typhoon Sendong via Red  Cross.  Just text RED amount  to 2899. The amount can be in 5, 25, 50, 100, 300, 500 and 1000.  Smart subscribers can also donate, text RED amount and send to  4143.  The amount can be in 10, 25, 50, 100, 300, 500 and 1000 pesos.   

If you are not a Globe or Smart subscriber, you can send your donations to Philippine Red Cross' through online means via Paypal, Greenpeso, Bancnet and GCash.  There are also bank accounts where you can deposit your donations. You can refer to the Philippine Red Cross website for more information on how you can donate for the victims of typhoon Sendong, visit http://www.redcross.org.ph/donatenow.