A MAGNITUDE-6.1 earthquake hit the town of Glan, Sarangani, last Thursday night, and was felt in varying degrees of intensity in various parts of Mindanao. Perhaps because of ongoing concern over the coronavirus pandemic, it did not draw as much attention as it should.
The earthquake was felt as a “strong shaking” Intensity V in Sarangani, South Cotabato, and Sultan Kudarat. It was a “moderately strong shaking” Intensity IV to the east, in Davao Occidental, and a “weak shaking” Intensity III in Davao City and Davao del Oro. Way across the Moro Gulf to the west in Zamboanga City, it was only a “slightly felt shaking” Intensity II.
The magnitude-6.1 earthquake was in the same general area where four earthquakes caused some death and destruction in late 2019. Within a two-week period from October 16 to November 1, 2019, four earthquakes with magnitudes 6.3, 6.6, 6.5, and 5.5 hit the same general area in Southern Mindanao, killing at least seven people.
The recurring earthquakes are a constant reminder that the Philippines is in the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, a ring of frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions around the Pacific Ocean. We are in the westernmost part of the loop, across the Pacific from the easternmost part which is California in the United States.
Since a powerful magnitude-8.1 earthquake struck San Francisco, California, in 1906. Scientists fear that a similarly powerful earthquake is bound to strike in our part of the loop. It is believed it could strike any time now, which is why we have been holding annual earthquake exercises in Metro Manila, with school children taught to protect their heads with books or seek shelter under tables while the earthquake lasts.
Aside from volcanic eruptions and earthquakes along the Ring of Fire, the Philippines is also right in the path of Pacific typhoons blowing westward toward Asia. All these make the Philippines one of the most disaster-prone areas of the world.
The magnitude-6.1 earthquake that hit southern Mindanao last Thursday night was hardly noticed because of our intense concern and worry over the ongoing coronavirus pandemic that has already claimed so many lives here and around the world. But we must continue to maintain our alert to the many old threats to our lives in this country, such as the long expected great earthquake similar to the San Francisco earthquake of 1906.
The recent magnitude 6-1 earthquake in Sarangani was a reminder that we must keep our guard up and continue the exercises we have long been holding so that we will be ready when it finally strikes.
