In 2010, further studies were conducted as scientific agencies, called the Collective Strengthening on Community Awareness on Natural Disasters (CSCAND), started the Greater Metro Manila Risk Assessment Project Risk Analysis Project (GMMA-RAP). In 2004, Phivolcs and the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), together with Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), conducted a study called the Metro Manila Earthquake Impact Reduction Study (MMEIRS). It analyzed different earthquake scenarios in Metro Manila. The MMEIRS study is prepared to have plans and strategies in place should a strong quake rock Metro Manila. (READ: Fault-finders, storm-chasers: Hazard mapping in the PH) How prepared is Metro Manila for a strong quake? The West Valley Fault, which traverses various parts of Metro Manila and surrounding provinces, is expected to greatly affect the country since the region is not only highly populated, it also hosts the seat of government and the country’s business capital.īefore the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and and Seismology (Phivolcs) released its latest and more detailed maps of the Valley Fault System, quite a number of studies had been conducted, simulating the impact of an earthquake in Metro Manila. The "Big One," which experts say may happen in our lifetime, could strike once the West Valley Fault moves. Original article on, Philippines – Just like Nepal, which was struck by major earthquakes in the last 3 weeks, the Philippines is also due for a powerful one. Maree Wacker, chief executive officer of the American Red Cross of Oregon, laments the state of readiness: "Oregonians as individuals are underprepared," Wacker told the Daily Mail.Ĭorrection: This article was updated on March 18, 2013, to note the proper location of Oregon's state capitol building in Salem (not Eugene, as previously stated).Įmail Marc Lallanilla or follow him. In virtually all of these regions, preparation for earthquakes has been woefully inadequate, say many experts. Fault lines have recently been discovered near New York City, and the Indian Point nuclear power plant, about 24 miles (39 km) north of the city, straddles the previously unidentified intersection of two active seismic zones. Whereas the West Coast is usually considered the most seismically active region of North America, the East Coast also has earthquakes, just not as often. That isn't good news, since a major earthquake usually occurs there every 180 years, according to recent research, and the fault line now has more than 300 years of pressure built up. There is, however, one important difference: Japan is much more prepared for earthquakes.Īnd Oregon is hardly the only region of North America overdue for a large earthquake: The Lake Tahoe region on the California-Nevada border is home to the West Tahoe Fault, which generally sees a quake every 3,000 to 4,000 years, and the most recent temblor occurred 4,500 years ago.Įlsewhere in California, the southern San Andreas Fault last produced a big temblor in 1690, and has been relatively quiet ever since. The report also noted that, geologically speaking, Japan and Oregon are mirror images of each other. In other words, another big Cascadia Fault earthquake is "long overdue," the International Science Times reports. Based on current understanding of the fault's seismic history, scientists estimate quakes occur along the line roughly every 240 years. That titanic 1700 shaker was a megathrust earthquake on the Cascadia Fault, a seismic zone that stretches for almost 700 miles (1,100 kilometers) just off the Pacific Northwest coast. "This earthquake will hit us again," Kent Yu, chair of the commission that developed the report, told Oregon legislators, according to the Daily Mail. The seismically active region has felt temblors before, most notably a massive earthquake and tsunami in January 1700 that wiped out entire forests in what is now Oregon and Washington and caused a deadly tsunami in Japan, thousands of miles across the Pacific Ocean.
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