MAGNITUDE 6.8 EARTHQUAKE STRIKES

THE PHILIPPINESFebruary 6, 2012

Walter Hays, Global Alliance for Disaster Reduction, University of

North Carolina, USA

OCCURRENCE

75 km (44 miles) north of Dumaguete in Negros Oriental and 660 km (400 miles)

SE of Manila

Depth of 48 km (29 miles)

THE PHILIPPINES PLATE: AN ACTIVE PART OF THE “RING OF FIRE”

LOCATION MAP

Mw 6.8

Stricken Area: Provinces of Negros Oriental and Cebu

Hardest hit City: Guihulngan, a mountainous town in Negros Oriental

11:49 AM, February 6, 2012

It slowed, but did not kill the Philippines’ recovery from WW II

A M8.2 EARTHQUAKE OCCURRED INTHE

NEGROS ORIENTAL AREA IN 1948

SOCIETAL IMPACTS

INITIAL REPORTS OF SOCIETAL IMPACTS

• Communication disrupted

• Panic in Cebu, a coastal town, due to unfounded rumors of a large tsunami

• Looting in Guihulngan hindered S&R efforts

CEBU: PEOPLE SCRAMBLING DUE TO FALSE RUMORS OF A TSUNAMI

INITIAL REPORTS OF SOCIETAL IMPACTS

• Over 200 aftershocks—some reaching M6.2-- hindered S&R and exacerbated damage

• Widespread power outages

• At least 43 dead, but this toll will likely rise due to the large number of missing people

INITIAL REPORTS OF SOCIETAL IMPACTS

• Ground shaking and landslides destroyed buildings and infrastructure

• Rain-induced landslides buried miners in Pantukan on Mindanao

• Landslides buried 30 homes in the village of Planas in Negros Oriental

INITIAL REPORTS OF SOCIETAL IMPACTS

• Death toll from another landslide in the mountain village of Solongon is not yet known.

• School and college students were killed as buildings collapsed

• Distribution of food and medicine hindered by impassable roads and damage to bridges

CEBU: PEOPLE EVACUATED TALL BUILDINGS AFTER MAIN SHOCK

NEGROS ORIENTAL: DAMAGE TO ROADS

NEGROS ORIENTAL: DAMAGE TO ROADS

DAMAGE TO ROADS

PANTUKAN: SEARCH AND RESCUE ACTIVITIES TO SAVE TRAPPED MINERS

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KNOWLEDGE

KNOWLEDGE

- Perspectives

- Perspectives

On Science, Policy,

On Science, Policy,

And Change

And Change