MANILA—The energy released by the magnitude-7.2 earthquake that rocked the Visayas and Mindanao Tuesday morning was equivalent “32 Hiroshima bombs,” the country’s top seismologist said.

Director Renato Solidum of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) told the Philippine Daily Inquirer that the earthquake was the strongest felt in the Visayas and Mindanao in 23 years.

Solidum said that the movement of the East Bohol fault triggered the tremor, which occurred at 8:12 a.m. with its epicenter located two kilometers southeast of the town of Carmen in Bohol. It occurred 33 kilometers below the surface of the earth, he said.

The temblor was felt at Intensity VII in Tagbilaran City; Intensity VI in Hinigaran, Negros Occidental, Mactan in Cebu, as well as Cebu, City Dumaguete and Mandaue City; Intensity V in Iloilo, Ozamis, Cagayan de Oro, and La Carlota cities, Guimaras Island, Abuyog town in Leyte, Sibulan town in Negros Occidental, and Gingoog town in Misamis Oriental.

The earthquake was felt at Intensity IV in Roxas, Masbate, Dipolog, Bacolod, Bayawan, Butuan and Tacloban cities; Bulusan town in Sorsogon; Hinunangan in Leyte; Patnungon in Antique; Tabon in Leyte; Baybay in Southern Leyte; San Pablo in Leyte; Bato, Leyte; San Jose, Antique; and Guihulngan, Negros Oriental.

It was felt at Intensity III in Davao, Canlaon, Cotabato, Zamboanga, Surigao and Borongan Cities; as well as La Costellana town in Negros Occidental; Bukidnon Province; Tarragona town in Davao; Laoan in Antique; Banisilan, North Cotabato; and the towns of Potongan, Polanco, Labason, and Manukan, all in Zamboanga del Norte.

The quake was felt at Intensity II in Tacurong City; Nabas and Libertad towns in Aklan; as well as Carrascal, Surigao del Sur. It was felt at Intensity I in Lezo town in Aklan.

Magnitude is a measure of the energy released by the earthquake while intensity measures the effects of an earthquake on objects or the environment as felt or perceived by humans.

According to Phivolcs, an Intensity VII earthquake is considered destructive. “Most people are frightened and run outdoors. People find it difficult to stand in upper floors. Heavy objects and furniture overturn or topple. Big church bells may ring. Old or poorly-built structures suffer considerable damage. Some well-built structures are slightly damaged. Some cracks may appear on dikes, fish ponds, road surface, or concrete hollow block walls. Limited liquefaction, lateral spreading and landslides are observed. Trees are shaken strongly.”

It defines liquefaction as a process whereby loose saturated sand loses strength during an earthquake and behaves like liquid.

An earthquake with a magnitude of 7 or 8 is considered major and can cause considerable damage near the epicenter. Shallow-seated or near-surface major earthquakes when they occur under the sea, may generate tsunamis. Tuesday morning’s quake did not trigger a tsunami.

Solidum told the Philippine Daily Inquirer that the last strong earthquake recorded in Bohol was on February 8, 1990. It had a magnitude of 6.8 and its epicenter was located 17 kilometers east of Tagbilaran City.

According to Phivolcs records, the quake caused “ground fissures, landslides, rockfalls, ground subsidence and collapse, sand or mud fountaining and sudden increase on the sea level. Most of the manifestations were particularly observed and experienced by the towns of Jagna, Valencia, Duero, Guindulman and Garcia Hernandez. The force of the incoming waves from the sea caused Alijuan River in Duero to flow inland immediately after the earthquake.”

The strongest recorded earthquake to hit Luzon had a magnitude 7.9 and struck on July 16, 1990, with its epicenter near Rizal town in Nueva Ecija. An estimated 1,600 people were killed in the temblor. That quake devastated Baguio City and caused extensive damage in Pangasinan and Nueva Ecija.

Asked how he would describe the strength of Tuesday’s earthquake, he said, “The magnitude, the energy released by the quake is equivalent to 32 Hiroshima bombs.” Solidum added that he expected more aftershocks to follow the major tremor.

As of noon Tuesday, Phivolcs recorded 137 aftershocks in Carmen and Tagbilaran towns in Bohol the strongest of which had a magnitude of 4.3 and occurred at 9:37 a.m. It was felt at Intensity IV in Tagbilaran City.

Oct 2 2013

Bishops appeal for Zamboanga aid

Bishops appeal for Zamboanga aid.

The country’s Catholic bishops issued an appeal for humanitarian aid in Zamboanga on Tuesday as the southern Philippine city looked to recover from three weeks of fighting between government troops and Muslim rebels.

“We call on your help to sustain the Church’s aid, and together bring the Christian message of love and peace to our brothers and sisters in need,” said Bishop Broderick Pabillo, chairman of the social action secretariat of the bishops’ conference.

The prelate said the fighting between the military and Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) fighters had a “devastating impact” on the people.

At least 200 people – including rebels, security forces and civilians – have been killed in the fighting. The government declared that “the worst is over” at the weekend but that sporadic fighting is still taking place.

The needs of more than 100,000 displaced people will continue to rise each day while homes and communities are rebuilt over the next three months, Pabillo said.

Authorities say some 10,000 homes were lost during the fighting and estimated losses to business have been pegged at about US$115 million.

The National Secretariat for Social Action of the Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines has so far provided a $2,300 initial contribution to Zamboanga archdiocese’s relief efforts.

The archdiocese is currently catering to the needs of some 18,736 evacuees in 11 Church-run evacuation centers.

Pabillo said the situation in the centers varies, adding that at least seven of the facilities have kitchens, but the rest have no provision for cooking.

The government’s social welfare office yesterday announced that it has set aside $2.3 million for “food assistance, non-food items, financial assistance, cash-for-work in the operation of community kitchens, hygiene and sanitation, and meal distribution” in the city.

Sep 29 2013

Mindanao prelates set day of prayer for Zambo | Sun.Star

Mindanao prelates set day of prayer for Zambo | Sun.Star.

Sunday, September 29, 2013

MEMBERS of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) based in Mindanao have set October 1, Tuesday, as a Day of Prayer for Peace now that the Zamboanga crisis has ended.

According to Cotabato Archbishop Orlando Quevedo, they decided to call for a day of prayer and combine it with fasting and candle lighting so that peace will stay in the strife-torn region.

“We are calling for whole day of prayers, fasting and candle lighting for peace on October 1,” said Quevedo.

The day-long activity shall culminate with candle-lighting activities held “in silence” simultaneously at 6 p.m., according to Quevedo.

On Saturday, the government announced that the crisis in Zamboanga City was over after the last remaining hostages were rescued from their Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) captors.

The crisis, which began on September 9 when MNLF forces occupied several barangays in the city, resulted to over 200 deaths and affected over 100,000 residents.

In a related development, the CBCP urged all archdioceses and dioceses in the country to pray the old St. Michael the Archangel Prayer in a bid to counter all the negative news that have surfaced in the past few weeks.

In a circular, Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma, who is also the CBCP president, asked all churches nationwide to recite the prayer amid the recent problems of the country ranging from the Zamboanga crisis, to the pork barrel scandal, as well as natural calamities such as typhoon and flooding.

“Through this prayer, we invoke St. Michael to defend us and our country against the wickedness and snares of the evil one,” Palma said.

“Michael – which means, ‘Who is like God’ – will win over all the evil attempts to disfigure the face of mankind because God, Who is stronger, acts in him,” he added.

The Prayer to St. Michael the Archangel, which was composed by Leo XIII in 1896 but was stopped in 1964, read as follows:

“St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle, be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the devil; may God rebuke him we humbly pray. And do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly hosts, by the power of God, cast into hell Satan and all the other evil spirits who prowl upon the earth for the ruin of souls. Amen.” (HDT/Sunnex)

Sep 28 2013

St. Lawrence Ruiz – first Filipino Saint

Lawrence Ruiz is the first Filipino to be canonized a saint. He and 15 others were martyred at Nagasaki, Japan in 1637. The group included two consecrated women, two other laymen, two brothers and nine priests.

Lawrence was born in Manila in the Philippines; his father was Chinese and his mother Filipino. He became associated with the Dominicans, and was a member of the Confraternity of the Holy Rosary. These Dominicans taught him Spanish, and from his parents he learned Chinese and Tagalog. He became a professional calligrapher and transcribed documents.

He married and had three children. In 1636, he fled the Philippines after being accused of murder. He joined a missionary group headed for Japan, where Catholics were being persecuted. It was soon found out that the members of this group were Catholic, so they were arrested and taken to Nagasaki. They were tortured for several days, first crushed while hanging upside down for three days, then the bodies were burned, with the ashes thrown into the Pacific Ocean on September 30, 1637. Pope John Paul II canonized these martyrs on October 18, 1987.