ARE FILIPINOS PREPARED FOR THE ''BIG-ONE"?
by:Nil-Joei Mateo
MANILA, Philippines.About 34,000 people dead instantly and 24,000 dead or dying in the rubble. About 110,000 injured and needing immediate treatment. Five hundred fires raging simultaneously.
"A 7.2-magnitude quake will slam Metro Manila", the PSA report list of these apocalyptic scenarios ,aside from the unimaginable number of fatalities that such a tremor would bring:
? At least 117,000 homes would either collapse or suffer heavy damage, rendering 1.2 million people homeless.
? A fourth of public facilities?hospitals, schools, fire houses and police stations ?would suffer damage.
? Damage to water reservoirs and purification plants would immediately cut 4,000 water supply points.
? At least 30 kilometers of electric cables cut, removing the supply of power instantly across the metropolis.
? At least 100 km of telecommunications cables cut, suspending services ?for several weeks if not longer.?
? Closure of airports, damage to major ports and cargo handling infrastructure.
? Closure of roads and damage to nine bridges and a government not functioning because of damage to its offices and facilities.
?While earthquakes are a global and natural phenomena that can hit any city without warning, there are both openly declared and unspoken reasons why Metro Manila ? is particularly vulnerable,? the PSA report said.
Metro Manila faces these and several other horrific scenes should a 7.2-magnitude earthquake hit the country's most populous urban area, according to a report released by a multinational firm doing intelligence work for clients on business and security in the Philippines.
Pacific Strategies and Assessments (PSA) said in its report on Metro Manila's quake vulnerability that while quakes were normal occurrences in the metropolis, the effects of a 7.2-magnitude tremor were likely to be made more terrifying by a lack of preparedness and failure to enforce zoning laws and building standards. Be prepared ,with this prayer is a powerful weapon we all have.