Saturday, February 27, 2010

Another Big Earthquake in Chile and Tsunami Warnings

Yesterday, Saturday, 3 something in the morning, an 8.8 magnitude quake shocked Chile. At least 214 were killed due to the earthquake and the resulting tsunami. There were also at least 33 aftershocks felt in Chile and the countries in the Pacific are on alert for possible tsunamis to hit the shorelines facing the Pacific. Actually, during this time, people in Davao Oriental, Surigao, and some places in Eastern Mindanao are experiencing unusual big waves hitting their shores. Although the tsunami alerts have been cancelled in Hawaii and the rest of the Pacific countries except for Japan and Russia, the Philippines is still on Alert No. 2. Which means that people should be ready to be evacuated anytime.

I'm really worried. I hope the government are already taking the necessary preparations for the possible evacuation and rescue in case tsunamis will hit the country. After having battled 2 super typhoons last year, and losing a lot of our fellowmen, houses, and means of livelihood, the Philippines haven't fully recovered yet and if we will face a tsunami situation now, at the height of El Niño and power shortage in the country, it will be very hard for us. So I keep praying for the safety of the Philippines and for the people who are affected by the earthquake to have strength to face this difficult time.

So far, there were no Filipinos reported to be missing or affected by the earthquake in Chile. A lot of Filipinos are all over the world, so I hope there really is no Filipino trapped somewhere there or needs help. During the Haiti quake many Filipinos were affected. I pray that missing people in Chile will be safe too.

On another note, I'm really wondering how they track missing persons during calamities like this or like the Haiti quake. I mean searching for a lot of names of people and making sure if they are safe is really hard. I hope they using a good technology in handling their searches like the Names Browser. For example, if I want to search for an Anna Kim I can find her email address and then I can contact her.

A lot of us might be reminded of the movie 2012. I'm also afraid, truthfully, but it's still 2010 it's still so early. But kidding aside, I think this is really because of the earth getting old, tectonic plates moving, and the environment getting devastated by man, and climate change. Maybe some people might be thinking that God is already punishing us or Mother Nature is punishing us. What do you think? Are we already facing the consequences of our reckless actions and abuse of our Earth, our only home planet?

Let's just all pray for the world and for the safety of everyone and help each other in this calamity.

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