On October 10th, two powerful earthquakes struck the southern Philippines, bringing new destruction, chaos, and anxiety to a nation that had only recently endured a series of disasters — from typhoons to a deadly magnitude 6.9 quake.
The first tremor, with a magnitude of 7.4, occurred at 9:43 in the morning local time off the coast of Manay in Davao Oriental province, at a depth of about 14 miles.
The shaking was felt across dozens of communities on the island of Mindanao. The second quake, with a magnitude of 6.8, followed about ten hours later, its hypocenter located at a depth of 23 miles. The second event worsened the damage and triggered new destruction in areas already affected by the first.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology later revised the magnitudes downward — from an initial 7.6 to 7.4 for the first quake, and from 6.9 to 6.8 for the second.
Residents reported that during the earthquake, cars swayed violently and people ran out of buildings into the streets. In one school, about fifty students were taken to a hospital with bruises, fainting, and dizziness. In several districts, power was cut off, roads and bridges were damaged, and transmission lines collapsed. Cracks appeared on the walls of Davao International Airport, although flight operations continued. Within twenty-four hours after the two main shocks, 824 aftershocks were recorded, some reaching a magnitude of 6.0, and seismic activity remains high.
According to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, eight people were killed in the twin earthquakes, and several hundred residents of the port city of Davao were injured.
Immediately after the first quake, authorities issued a tsunami warning for coastal areas within 186 miles of the epicenter.
Thousands of people in the coastal towns of Mati, Manay, and Baganga were evacuated to higher ground. In total, more than one thousand one hundred families — about five thousand six hundred people — left their homes. The alert was lifted two hours later after no significant waves were recorded.
Experts note that the increasing frequency and magnitude of earthquakes, along with other natural disasters, align with a mathematical model developed by the international group of scientists known as ALLATRA.
Details are presented in their report “On the progression of climatic disasters on earth and their catastrophic consequences.” It is crucial to review this information to understand what climatic threats may occur in your region in the coming years — and how they can be prevented.