DoH: Metro Manila ready for Big One

MANILA’s recent inter-agency efforts to aid earthquake-stricken Myanmar show the international community that the country is ready to respond to high-magnitude earthquakes such as the expected 7.2-magnitude earthquake, called “The Big One,” the Department of Health (DoH) said.

“When you look at international agencies like the World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations Development Programme, and United Nations Children Fund, Filipinos are leading in disaster risk reduction and management. Our personnel are battle-tested — they never hesitate in crisis situations,” Health Secretary Teodoro J. Herbosa told a Palace briefing.

“We’ll continue training young professionals, and hospitals will also train other institutions that want WHO verification.”

Experts have warned that a 7.2-magnitude earthquake triggered by the movement of the 100-kilometer West Valley Fault along Metro Manila could lead to thousands of deaths and cause widespread damage to infrastructure.

A strong earthquake along the West Valley Fault recurs about every 400 to 600 years, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS). Its last recorded movement was in 1658 or 367 years ago.

A 7.7-magnitude quake struck Myanmar and parts of Thailand on March 28, crippling major infrastructure like airports, bridges and highways and killing more than 3,000 people. The recent quake is considered to be one of the biggest in the last century.

The government’s 89-member inter-agency humanitarian team of soldiers and doctors deployed to aid victims in the Myanmar quake returned to the Philippines on Sunday.

At least two Filipinos were killed in the quake that hit the Southeast Asian nation on March 28, the Department of Foreign Affairs earlier said. — John Victor D. Ordoñez