Major earthquakes in the region
The Northern Mariana Islands is located within what’s known as the Pacific Ring of Fire where tectonic plates (earth’s crust) meet. The Eurasian plate overlaps the Philippine Sea plate to the north of the island and sinks under it to the south. “The result is 51 fault lines scoring Taiwan 20 serious quakes this century and the distinct chance of more coming soon”.
The closest fatal temblors to the NMI that occurred in recent years are: Kobe City in Japan which took place in Jan. of 1995 with 5,500 fatalities under a magnitude of 6.5 on the Richter scale; East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia hit by a temblor of 6.8 killing 2,200 people; and Cabanatuan, Philippines by a 7.7 quake that claimed 2,000 lives. These temblors occurred in nearby countries or about three to four hours away from these isles.
All of quake stricken areas had to wait for nearly four to six hours before assistance descended from the central government. Some of the people buried under the rubbles were able to free themselves on their own while the less fortunate ones had to wait for days before they were pulled-out of cement walls and dirt. Others suffered instant death when the walls or ceiling of their houses or apartments caved-in while fast asleep.
That their city sits atop four tectonic plates, the Tokyo City government makes earthquake rehearsals a regular exercise. The entire city goes through a drill as though the big one has turned the Pacific’s biggest city into rubble. They have seen and learned from nearby Kobe City experience and know by heart that they can’t leave anything to chance.
The NMI needs to get its act together for we never know the depth of destruction which may hit these isles when we’re all fast asleep. Why such preparedness is mandatory for these isles? Even the best among the world’s top seismologists have not been able to reasonably predict when the next major temblor would occur unlike reasonable predictions on the effects of both El Niño and La Niña weather.
There’s also the fragility of the local economy so adversely affected by external influences, i.e., major earthquakes in nearby countries where we get our share of visitors. This definitely warrants a tourism plan beyond conventional wisdom or when Tokyo is hit by the much anticipated big one that would most assuredly affect tourism beyond the Asian Crisis. All concerns must converge and begin an emergency plan that deals with the lives of our people and all that must be dealt with while we attempt to return life to normalcy. Si Yuus Maase`!
