Famous Earthquakes in the Philippines

1. Moro Gulf earthquake (1976)

2. Luzon earthquake (1990)

3. Casiguran earthquake (1968)

4. Mindoro earthquake (1994)

5. Bohol earthquake (2013)

1. Moro Gulf earthquake (1976)

With a 7.9 magnitude and almost 3,000 casualties, this Mindanao
earthquake is officially the strongest and deadliest earthquake in
Philippine history. Almost 40, 000 people in Regions 9 and 12 were also
left homeless by this tragedy.
2. Luzon earthquake (1990)
On July 16, 1990, one of the strongest earthquakes to ever struck the
country occurred in several areas of Central Luzon and Cordillera region.
This 7.8-magnitude tremor resulted to a total of 1,621 deaths and serious
damage in properties
3. Casiguran earthquake (1968)
This 7.3-magnitude earthquake killed a total of 270 people and also
caused massive landslides and tsunami in Casiguran, Aurora. Almost 300

people were also killed when the Ruby Tower in Binondo collapsed as a
result of the tremor.
4. Mindoro earthquake (1994)
A total of 1530 houses in the coastal areas of Baco and Calapan, Oriental
Mindoro were swept away by a tsunami generated by a 7.1-magnitude
earthquake. The tragedy also killed 78 people.
5. Bohol earthquake (2013)
A 7.2-magnitude tremor that killed more than 150 people, destroyed
century-old churches and affected more than 3 million families in Central
Visayas.
Magnitude / Intensity Comparison
Magnitude and Intensity measure different characteristics of earthquakes.
Magnitude measures the energy released at the source of the earthquake.
Magnitude is determined from measurements on seismographs. Intensity
measures the strength of shaking produced by the earthquake at a certain
location. Intensity is determined from effects on people, human structures,
and the natural environment.
Abbreviated Modified Mercalli Intensity
Scale
I. Not felt except by a very few under
especially favorable conditions.
II. Felt only by a few persons at rest,
especially on upper floors of buildings.
III. Felt quite noticeably by persons
indoors, especially on upper floors of
buildings. Many people do not
recognize it as an earthquake.
Standing motor cars may rock slightly.
Vibrations similar to the passing of a
truck. Duration estimated.
IV. Felt indoors by many, outdoors by
few during the day. At night, some
awakened. Dishes, windows, doors
disturbed; walls make cracking sound.
Sensation like heavy truck striking
building. Standing motor cars rocked
noticeably.
V. Felt by nearly everyone; many
awakened. Some dishes, windows
broken. Unstable objects overturned.
Pendulum clocks may stop.
VI. Felt by all, many frightened. Some
heavy furniture moved; a few
instances of fallen plaster. Damage
slight.

VII. Damage negligible in buildings of

good design and construction; slight to
moderate in well-built ordinary
structures; considerable damage in
poorly built or badly designed
structures; some chimneys broken.
VIII. Damage slight in specially
designed structures; considerable
damage in ordinary substantial
buildings with partial collapse.
Damage great in poorly built
structures. Fall of chimneys, factory
stacks, columns, monuments, walls.
Heavy furniture overturned.
IX. Damage considerable in specially
designed structures; well-designed
frame structures thrown out of plumb.
Damage great in substantial buildings,
with partial collapse. Buildings shifted
off foundations.
X. Some well-built wooden structures
destroyed; most masonry and frame
structures destroyed with foundations.
Rails bent.
XI. Few, if any (masonry) structures
remain standing. Bridges destroyed.
Rails bent greatly.

XII. Damage total. Lines of sight and

level are distorted. Objects thrown into
the air.
Magnitude / Intensity Comparison
The following table gives intensities that are typically observed at locations near the
epicenter of earthquakes of different magnitudes.
Magnitude

Typical Maximum

Modified Mercalli Intensity

1.0 - 3.0

3.0 - 3.9

II - III

4.0 - 4.9

IV - V

5.0 - 5.9

VI - VII

6.0 - 6.9

VII - IX

7.0 and higher

VIII or higher

Famous Earthquake of the 21st Century

1. Chile Earthquake (2014)

2. Indian Ocean Earthquake (2004)

3. Haiti Earthquake (2010)

4. Kashmir Earthquake (2004)

5. Sichuan Earthquake (2008)

1.CHILE
A magnitude-8.2 temblor
earthquake struck off the coast of
Chile late Tuesday, April 1, 2014
killing at least six people, triggering
a six-foot tsunami and sending
900,000 people fleeing to "safe
zones." The next day, on April 2, a
7.6 magnitude aftershock hit the
same region.
The quake struck roughly 62 miles
northwest of the port city of
Iquique and was 12.5 miles below
the seabed, according to the U.S.
Geological Survey. A tsunami
advisory was issued for Hawaii, but
no destructive tsunami ever
materialized. Chileans were
affected by landslides that blocked
roads, knocked out power for
thousands, damaged an airport,
and caused fires that destroyed
several businesses. Most of the
victims were killed by falling debris

or heart attacks, and Chilean

President Michelle Bachelet
declared a state of emergency in
the region.
2.INDIAN
Causing massive destruction in
Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India,
Thailand, the Maldives, and the
Eastern coast of Africa, the 2004
Indian Ocean Earthquake is the
deadliest earthquake of the 21st
century. The quake itself, an
estimated 9.1-9.3 magnitude,
struck on Sunday, December 26,
2004, off the coast of Sumatra,
Indonesia, but it was the resulting
tsunami that proved to be the
deadliest.
Combining the figures from the
Sumatra-Andaman earthquake and
the Indonesian Tsunami, which had
waves of nearly 100 feet high, over
230,000 lives were lost. Numerous

others were injured and billions of

dollars in damages were reported.
The 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami is
the deadliest tsunami in history.

record. Tremors were felt as far as

India and Afghanistan, with the
quake measured at a magnitude of
7.6 and a depth of 10 kilometers.

In addition to being the worst

earthquake of the century, the
2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake also
ranks as the fifth deadliest
earthquake among the worst
earthquakes in history and the
third strongest earthquake ever in
terms of magnitude.

In addition to the nearly 80,000

fatalities, another 106,000 were
injured, most of which were in
Pakistan. Many of the injuries and
deaths were a result of victims
being trapped in poorly
constructed schools, homes and
businesses when the quake struck
on October 8, 2005. In the time
since, over $6 billion has been used
to rebuild the area.
5.Sinchua
Centered in the Sichuan province of
China, an 8.0-magnitude
earthquake shook the area for
more than two minutes on May 12,
2008. The Great Sichuan
Earthquake as it's been called, was
one of the deadliest in China and
one of the worst of the century,
killing over 69,000. As if the first
quake was not horrific enough,
strong aftershocks, including a
total of over 42,700 and as strong
as a 6.0-magnitude, haunted the
area in the time following.

3.HAITI
Striking roughly 25 kilometers from
the country's capital of Port-auPrince, the 2010 Haiti Earthquake
shook the Caribbean country on
July 12, 2010, at 4:53 p.m. local
time. The massive initial quake,
which registered at a 7.0
magnitude and depth of just 13
kilometers, as well as the more
than 50 aftershocks in the days
following, affected an estimated
three million people, including
between 46,000 and 316,000
deaths.
While the exact number of deaths
is disputed, the massive
destruction collapsed or damaged
an estimated 250,000 homes and
another 30,000 businesses. As a
result, as many as 1.8 million were
left homeless from the disaster.
4.Kashmirr
Hitting near the city of
Muzaffarabad, Azad Kashmir, in
Pakistan, the 2005 Kasmir
Earthquake killed an estimated
79,000, which at the time made it
the 17th deadliest earthquake on

Using roughly one trillion yuan, or

$146.5 billion, China spent more
than three years rebuilding the
area. In all, as many as 11 million
were left homeless from the
massive destruction, which also left
over 18,000 missing and roughly
374,000 injured. In proportion,
roughly 15 million live in the
affected area.
PLATE TECTONICS

Plate tectonics is the theory that

Earth's outer layer is made up of
plates, which have moved
throughout Earth's history. The
theory explains the how and why
behind mountains, volcanoes, and
earthquakes, as well as how, long
ago, similar animals could have
lived at the same time on what are
now widely separated continents.
You probably wouldn't recognize
the Earth if you could see it 225
million years ago. Back then, all the
major continents formed one giant
supercontinent, called Pangaea.
Perhaps initiated by heat building
up underneath the vast continent,
Pangaea began to rift, or split
apart, around 200 million years
ago. Oceans filled the areas
between these new sub-continents.
The land masses continued to
move apart, riding on separate
plates, until they reached the
positions they currently occupy.
These continents are still on the
move today.

PLATE TECTONICS

Exactly what drives plate tectonics

is not known. One theory is that
convection within the Earth's
mantle pushes the plates, in much
the same way that air heated by
your body rises upward and is
deflected sideways when it reaches
the ceiling.
Another theory is that gravity is
pulling the older, colder, and thus
heavier ocean floor with more force
than the newer, lighter seafloor.
Whatever drives the movement,
plate tectonic activity takes place
at four types of boundaries:
divergent boundaries, where new
crust is formed; convergent
boundaries, where crust is
consumed; collisional boundaries,
where two land masses collide; and
transform boundaries, where two
plates slide against each other.