The horrors of earthquakes

DATELINE MANILA
by: BINGO P. DEJARESCO

The 7.0 magnitude earthquake that devastated Haiti in the Carribean may look like Hollywood disaster movie- but it is not.

It is not so, because Haiti’s Papal Nuncio - assigned by Pope Benedict the 16th in August last year is from Talibon, Bohol - Msgr. Bernardito Auza who was lucky to survive the earthquake that killed at least 50,000 (Red Cross estimates) to a high of half a million people. He lived to tell the horror story.

That is a national tragedy since Haiti has a population of only 9 million. The Presidential Palace, the Parliament, the Senate, schools, cathedrals and seminaries collapsed along the fault line as the epicenter was just 40 kilometers away. Not so lucky was Msgr. Joseph Miot, Haiti Archbishop who died under the rubble according to the Vatican.

Coprses are lying all over as food, medicine and water are scarce because communication, electricity, airports and sea ports have shut down. The UN is raising US$590 million and US secretary of State Hillary Clinton was expected there last night - to lead in one of America’s biggest rescue efforts in recent history.

The horrors of earthquakes are clear. In 1989 a great earthquake shook San Francisco before a football finals game killing scores of people and destroying billions in property. In October 2005 one 7.6 magnitude quake hit Myanmar-killing 40,000.

And remember the 2004 Christmas holiday 9.3 magnitude shocker in the Indian Ocean that created tsunamis - killing a total of 225,000 people? What about the Big “8” that ripped China in 1976 that produced at least 300,000 to 500,000 dead (China is not talking).

Is the Philippines near the Earthquake Danger Zone? You bet.

Philvocs Director himself Rene Solidum says so - saying the Big One of 7.0-magnitude - is coming - with the cities in Manila very vulnerable with the presence of a fault line.

The only two questions are:

when will Big 7 occur and how prepared are we? Are the provinces also safe from aftershocks and tsunami threats -especially the coastal areas? We issue this challenge to all presidentiables - to publish extensively the Disaster Maps and Earthquake Fault lines in the country - so everyone will know. It seems those maps have been kept under wraps because it will surely make some “prime real estate” properties collapse in price and values. It will hurt many of their political fund supporters.

But is this secrecy worth the danger it will eventually cause in the future?

Environmentalist architect Jun Palafox has asked government to IMMEDIATELY do a Geologic, Hydraulogic and Structural Audit of all buildings and infrastructure in the presence of Finance secretary Margarito Teves last Thursday at the Manila Polo Club.

Must not the Government allocate for the Audit expenses despite the P250-billion budget deficit?

Climate warrior senator Loren Legarda had cautioned that all hospitals should be disaster-proof and disaster resilient. She recalled that in the 1990 earthquake that devastated Baguio City, the Baguio General Hospital and hospitals in nearby provinces were shattered by the earthquake - unable to provide aid to victims. A double jeopardy.

The lessons in Haiti are clear - and spoken in clear text by our own relate out there - Msgr Auza. We can prod our government officials to do something or we can be apathetic.

We can play monkeys - seeing, hearing and doing nothing. Until the “Big One” comes around - and we realize, we have really been sitting, brainless monkeys all our lives. Truly, we can ignore the horrors of earthquakes at our own grave peril.