A strong earthquake jolts the town of Nakar in Quezon province, Philippines. The landshaking shocked the residents in Nakar, shaking buildings and structures within the area. The earthquake occured at approximately 3:10 in the afternoon. The origin of the earthquake is of tectonic in origin wherein there are two plates suddenly brushed up together in order to produce a force. Thankfully, no one was hurt or recorded fatality during the onslaught of the groundshaking activity that affected several houses and structures across the perimeter of the earthquake. However, local government units of the affected areas are now conducting a safety inspection to determine any possible damages to structures as well as properties in the area.

The earthquake is strong enough that it can produce a significant damage to any structure standing within the affected areas. At a very shallow depth of 13 kilometers below the surface, the town of Nakar suffered the strongest tremor in the area. General Nakar, Quezon experienced an Intensity V quake while Antipolo city and the whole of Rizal suffered an intensity IV quake. Intensity III was feld in Metro Manila as well as far as Nueva Ecija and Tarlac. Residents in the National Capital Region were shocked to feel a strong earthquake, triggering safety concerns in their area.
A strong earthquake struck Quezon, reaching to Metro Manila and nearby provinces
Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) under the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical  and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), which are the official government agency monitoring weather and natural hazards in the country indicated that there will be slight tremors that will still be felt in the region. These are small aftershocks, which are not strong enough to cause a significant concern to existing buildings and structures in the area such as Magnitudes 2., 2.6, and 2.1 after few minutes.

Schools and government agencies ordered an immediate evacuation to promote safety and keep all individuals away from the hazard zone. Government agencies were also asked to vacate their posts and were ordered to move away to safety to prevent aftershocks that might cause further risk to safety inside their working areas. Since the earthquake is a strong one, there are aftershocks that can be as strong as the initial quake that could further harm all individuals who are inside the buildings and structures. Authorized personnel are only allowed to enter the structures of building to inspect any signs of damages.

Metro Manila is the capital city of the Philippines. It is the economic hub of the country where industrial structures are mostly located in the area. The National Capital Region has the highest concentration of high-rise building and multi-layered concrete structures that are vulnerable to natural disasters such as earthquakes. A magnitude 5 earthquake is significant enough to cause a potential threat to damage to any buildings in the area that could cost millions of dollars. Nearby provinces of the National Capital Region such as Rizal, Quezon, Bulacan, Pampanga, and Cavite also has numerous tall structures that are vulnerable to damage caused by ground shaking movements.

*Read Related Article: 10 Safety Facts why mega earthquake drill is important to your community

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Why megadrill is an important practice to every society? this is because it will help to increase awareness regarding life-saving activities to decrease the amount of casualties and injuries when an actual earthquake strikes a certain areas. People should know more about the significance of using the three main safety tips to prevent anyone from becoming a victim. This includes Drop, Cover, and Hold On practice.

It is advised that you should immediately proceed to an open space when you feel a strong ground shaking movement. Avoid tall structures because you will be vulnerable for being trapped inside and might never get out soon if the structure that you are seeking protection might collapse. Prevent going near a glass structure because they might shatter, which will risk you into injury or life threatening risk whenever there is an active ground shaking activity. If you are located in the shoreline and you observe that the shore suddenly retreats to the shore, run as fast as you can away from the shore and seek for a higher ground because a tsunami is coming.

The location where the ground tremor recently strike Quezon province was under the Philippine Mobile Belt. It is a region in the Philippines that is seated above some of the most active fault lines in the world. Just like in the West Valley Fault System in Marikina City, part of Metro Manila, it is capable of producing a magnitude of 7.2 tremor in a Richter scale. This tremor is strong enough that can take a skyrise building down to its knees and can generate billions of dollars worth of economic damage across the capital city in the Philippines.

*Read Related Article: After Italy, Myanmar was hit by a powerful magnitude 6.8 quake near the capital city of Naypyidaw

On July 16, 1990, A very strong magnitude 7.9 magnitude earthquake strike in Digdig, Nueva Ecija, generating a very strong intensity 9 quake across northern and central Luzon. The quake caused a massive rupture from DigDig town to Pangasinan province. The quake caused thousands of casualties. It toppled numerous buildings and structures across the affected area. Up to now, there are still several hundreds of victims who remains to be missing until today.

The Philippines is seated in the Ring of Fire, which is a region in the planet Earth that receives more than 50% of active seismic activities. This region stretches across the Pacific Plate, which is on the coastlines of the North Pacific Ocean and South Pacific Ocean. These are frequent earthquake phenomenon, volcanic activities, and tsunami-generated earthquakes. Every 2 minutes, the earth experiences ground-shaking activities, in which more than a half of them are being felt within the Ring Of Fire.

*Read Related Article: A strong magnitude 6.2 earthquake shake's central Italy

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