Tuesday, February 07, 2012

Information : The February 6 Negros and Cebu Earthquake

The first postings that I put in this blog were : the Metro Manila Geohazard Maps and the Philippine Fault Zone Map. I just thought then that these maps will be good references for those buying real properties so that they will know the exact locations of these fault lines and avoid buying real properties straddling these fault lines. These two subjects are the most popular and most visited posts in this blog (see the list of popular posts on the side of the blog).

After the news of the earthquake in  Negros and Cebu yesterday, I checked the actual areas affected by the earthquake on both islands.  Out of curiosity I decided to compare the map of the areas affected  and the  Philippine Fault Zone Map. When I  saw the two maps, it was eerie! The actual areas affected by the earthquake in both provinces lie exactly where the fault lines are located. ( See and compare the yellow-orange/yellow-green shaded areas in the USGS ShakeMap and the red lines in the Philippine Fault Zone Map). It means that the Philippines Fault Zone map is really accurate and not just an approximation. And these maps are made to inform people of the potential dangers of these geological hazards. Take time to seriously study these maps specially if you live in these  areas where the the fault lines are located.           ( Please click and see P.F.Z. maps below)

But what I realized now (and dread) is that all these places in the map with fault lines ( red lines ) could have or would have earthquakes at anytime : now, soon or in the future. I just hope and pray that we would be ready and prepared when the "time" comes.


Areas affected by the earthquake ( yellow/yellow-green colored areas ) 



Active Faults of Negros and Cebu ( red lines )

Philippine Fault Zone Maps :



Map Source  :  U.S. Geological Survey     Philvocs/DOST
            


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1 comment:

  1. UnknownFebruary 9, 2012 at 11:06 AM

    I would like to thank my good friend Mr. Jesse Sarmiento Jr. for correcting
    a wrong term I used in this post. Instead of using the term "geological" I wrongly substituted "geographical". By the way Jesse is a geologist and a graduate of UP Diliman. Mea culpa!

    ReplyDelete