Deadly Philippine Quake Hits Visayas, Death Toll Rising as Rescue Efforts Continues

This is another tragedy that hits the Visayas region. The 6.9 magnitude quake that struck heavily populated provinces of Negros and Cebu on Monday resulted to landslides, infrastructure damages and claimed the lives of at least 52 people. But authorities say that the number is increasing as search and rescue operations started today. There were also at least 29 people went missing after the quake. Most of them were believed to be trapped in landslides in Guihulngan, a coastal city of 100,000 people in Negros where the epicenter is recorded.

As of Tuesday, Phivolcs recorded 745 aftershocks and authorities said that this will continue in the next few days. The highest recorded aftershock is 6.2 at around 6 in the afternoon yesterday. Though they assured the public that aftershocks will not result to a 6.5 magnitude earthquake but residents are still worried about thier safety. A tsunami warning (alert 2) was issued yesterday but coastal residents were allowed to return to their homes in the afternoon.

A barangay in Guihulngan City, Barangay Planas, suffered the most where 30 houses were buried in the earthquake- triggered landslides. Most of the reported casualties came from that barangay. Several casualties were also reported in Tayasan town. These are the areas nearest to the epicenter of the quake.

Some updates on the damages caused by the earthquake:
- there were 8 bridges that collapsed in Negros Oriental
- roads to mountainous areas remain unpassable
- telecomunication facilities were cut off but normal operation is expected today
- there are still some areas where with no electricity and water supply
- some areas are still isolated
- search and rescue operations is on-going in the landslide stricken villages

According to experts, the quake that hit several provinces in the Visayas was not yet included in their mapping. The fault line is new. Experts were already sent to Negros.




Pictures and Videos of the Earthquake in Negros Oriental and Cebu:

Videos of Typhoon Ondoy

Latest update on the casualties of Typhoon Ondoy

-240 deaths and still increasing as more people are found in creeks, rivers within Metro Manila. Other deaths were due to landslides and flashfloods.

-P2.4 billion estimated damages to properties and infrastructure


Some videos on Typhoon Ondoy:

Latest Cases of Swine flu: What the Government Can do?

I came across this statistics on the latest casualties of Swine Flu in the United States. What makes me curious is how the US handle this problem. They are actually advanced when it comes to medical technologies and they have medical experts but still there are confirmed deaths of swine flu.

In the case of the Philippines, are we ready to combat this epidemic? The health department made some precautionary measures but still it is not enough. Entry into airports are not that tight. We even give preferential treatment to VIP's such as the group of Manny Pacquaio. If ever there will be cases of swine flu in the Philippines, are there concrete actions or plans to contain this harmful virus. Of course, there are plans, but the question is are we ready? Do we have enough medicine, anti viral drugs, quarantine officers, scanners, doctors, hospitals and so on...and the needed budget to implement these plans...


U.S. Human Cases of H1N1 Flu Infection
(As of May 11, 2009, 11:00 AM ET)
States # of
laboratory
confirmed
cases Deaths
Alabama 4
Arizona 182
California 191
Colorado 39
Connecticut 24
Delaware 44
Florida 54
Georgia 3
Hawaii 6
Idaho 1
Illinois 487
Indiana 39
Iowa 43
Kansas 36
Kentucky** 10
Louisiana 9
Maine 4
Maryland 23
Massachusetts 88
Michigan 130
Minnesota 7
Missouri 14
Nebraska 13
Nevada 9
New Hampshire 4
New Jersey 7
New Mexico 30
New York 190
North Carolina 11
Ohio 6
Oklahoma 14
Oregon 17
Pennsylvania 10
Rhode Island 7
South Carolina 32
South Dakota 1
Tennessee 54
Texas 179 2
Utah 63
Vermont 1
Virginia 16
Washington 128 1
Washington, D.C. 4
Wisconsin 384
TOTAL*(44) 2618 cases 3 deaths
*includes the District of Columbia
**One case is resident of Ky. but currently hospitalized in Ga.

Source: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention