Benham Rise, the world’s largest caldera discovered in the Philippines- does it pose a threat after successive Mindanao earthquakes?
Series of Strong Quakes
The recent successive earthquake incidents in Mindanao had shaken not just the affected areas but the entire country as well. This made us all worry about our safety, particularly the people in the Philippines’ second-largest island group. Some may ask, “Is this a warning?” while others worry, “Are we nearing the end?”
While these may perhaps sound too paranoid, we can’t blame them. We can’t deny the fact the Philippines is geographically located along a typhoon belt – the reason why we get lambasted by quite a number of typhoons each year, plus, we are tagged to be in what they call the “Ring of Fire” where devastating earthquakes and volcanic eruptions take place. Sometimes, we can’t help but shake our heads in disappointment.
On October 16, 2019, a 6.3 magnitude first struck several provinces in Mindanao, including Cotabato, Davao del Sur, and nearby areas. At 8pm on the same day, the largest aftershock hit with a magnitude of 5.5. Fast forward to October 29, 2019, at around 9am, another quake hit the same area particularly 22 kilometers of Tulunan, Cotabato.