What Happens If A Huge Quake Strikes Down The Metro?

A couple of days back, DPWH made a thorough assessment of Metro Manila following the earthquake/tsunami last Friday at Japan to see how RP would fare in the event of such a disaster.

To tell you, the results aren't good to hear. Lemme give a quick rundown on their study.

Here are the possible casualties that might be brought by a 7.5 magnitude-strong quake impact:

• 30M filipinos would be homeless, with millions of pesos in terms of structural casualties(roads, buildings, homes, etc.)
• 400 water supply points would be cut, due to severe damage on pipelines
• Communication cables cut, causing imminent difficulties that may last for weeks if not months
• Power lines/posts damaged, immediately bringing power shortage to the entire metropolis
• 9 bridges would collapse, transportation difficulties would occur
• Vital facilities would receive damage following the impact. These include schools, fire departments, govt. agencies key offices and the like, which might result in a non-functioning goverment

(Source: 92.3 News FM, as read by Cherry Mercado)

Disturbing, they are. But we have to accept the fact that with RP's location within the perimeters of the pacific plate and a fault line endangering the rest of the metro & its neighboring provinces, a huge quake similar to what we saw last week at Japan, is bound or more likely to come in the future. These facts are not released to create panic, but rather to educate all of us in preparing ourselves against such disasters.

As the old adage says, an ounce of prevention is much better than a pound of cure.

Pray. It works.

Sports Corner: Of AFC Challenge Cup and The Azkals

Perhaps time literally stopped here at RP earlier this day during the Philippine Azkals' second bout against the win-hungry Mongolian Blue Wolves. Surely, t'was a tight match, given the opponent's desperation to earn a spot in the prelims and the weather which most of the boys from RP aren't familar with. But then, seems that Lady Luck sided with the rabid pinoy warriors this time.

Let us examine a couple of factors that were quite noticeable during the match.

Weather

Perhaps the biggest concern everyone had for the team, the harsh winter climate at Mongolia sure became a true obstacle for the Azkals. Obviously, most of them are aliens to this type of environment. The tight weather decreased an ample percentage of their mobility and left everyone vulnerable against injury risks. The high altitude also gave them a lot of trouble, given that it slows down their breathing rate at some point.

This factor played an important role in the match. Noticeably, our boys performed their plays sluggishly, with them becoming prone to injury and some of our defenders rendered unable to move at their usual speeds(e.g, Chiffy Caligdong). However, the collective will of the entire team gave them the strength to brave through the climate.

Edward Sacapaño as Neil Etheridge's substitute

Neil's absence during the game indeed was a big loss for the Azkals. Edward was a midfielder prior to the 2nd leg. His transition into becoming a goalkeeper took a toll for this bout. While it is true that he performed fine earlier with his good positioning and intuition, he did not possess the grip and sense of Neil when it comes to the said position.

Formations

As expected, Mongolia played tighter with regards to their formations, sporting a defensive play that hindered the Azkals from penetrating shots. The Azkals, on the other hand remained on their objective of pressing the attack whilst claiming possession for the remainder of the game. They did a good job in rendering their plays, however as I've mentioned above, the climate became a literal enemy of theirs during the game, thus hindering them from performing them at a much higher rate.

Conclusions, Future

All in all, the Azkals literally experienced birthing throes, which is normal for a football team. I believe Coach Michael Weiss must improve the team's training schedule, as well as its phases and etc. I hope the members took notes during the game earlier, that would aid them a great deal in their future matches.

Keep it up boys. Let the passion continue on burning. Game on. :)

Yesterday was a disaster...

Nuff' said.

T'was the worst disaster we've seen in recent years, much worse than the calamities that preceeded it.

Truth is, it's quite heartbreaking to see videos/photos of the events that unfolded yesterday, not to mention watching people die on live TV. Guess no one's an exception at the face of such harrowing events, not even superpowers or otherwise.

The quake at Japan made me ponder on a couple of things:

• Is this a premonition of upcoming events, or to make it simple, is our world slowly breaking apart?
• Did we trigger this calamity by ourselves? I don't think that God would simply let loose such a disaster(points out to a Genesis verse)
• Boy, a lot of things occurred lately. What's going on?

Whatever the answers to those questions are, I hope that things at Japan would be fine soon enough. The Land of the Rising Sun never believes in giving up. I'm quite sure they'll be able to stand up following this disaster(points out to the Hiroshima bombing decades ago).

*****

It's been a while since I posted something worthwhile on my journal. My apologies. You see, it's my final year in college, and I'm working double time to ensure my spot towards the end of the race. Once all things are said and done, I'll be updating this site again.

#prayforjapan

Breaking News: An explosion occurred within the perimeter of the quake-hit Fukushima Nuclear Plant earlier this afternoon. Reports by the authorities claim that with the pressure rising, a nuclear meltdown is most likely to occur. (via CNN and Sky News)