The recent earthquake in China is a tragic reminder of the inherent geologic instability of the region. The Philippines itself is sandwiched in the middle of the "Philippine Plate." The country is enveloped by fault lines that are shared with the Eurasian Plate (which includes China), the gigantic Pacific Plate, and the equally large Indian-Australian plate. The Philippines sits on a small section of crust that is constantly crushed and pulled by these massive sections of earth.
According to Australian news sources, many buildings and houses cannot survive an earthquake to the scale of the one that hit the Sichuan province in China. Hopefully with enough pressure, the Philippine government can begin protecting the people from natural disasters of this scale.
Please visit the links after the article for more information. Also please donate to the China Earthquake Relief Fund to help with the rescue and aid efforts.
"Philippines 'unprepared' if quake hits
The Philippine government admits that it is not prepared to cope with the effects of a major earthquake like the recent one that struck China and caused major devastation.
As Shirley Escalante reports from Manila, the Philippine government, together with the private sector, has started a joint inspection of structures in the country to ensure that these can withstand earthquakes.
Deputy chief of the National Disaster Coordinating Council, Anthony Golez, says the Philippines' weak point in disaster response and management is in firefighting.
He says it simply does not have enough firetrucks, but government agencies have been upgrading their equipment.
A study by local scientists showed that a magnitude 7.8 earthquake may occur in the Philippines, which is located in the Pacific Ring of Fire.
The Philippines has earlier offered to send a medical team to China to help those affected by the recent quake."