‘Midnight killer’
On August 17, 1976, around 8,000 people were killed, including those missing, after a tsunami triggered by an 8.1 earthquake along the Cotabato Trench struck at the Moro Gulf at 12:11 a.m.
It has been dubbed as the “midnight killer” and considered as the most disastrous tsunami in the Philippines.
World Tsunami Day: Giant waves rare in PHL, but could be devastating, says Phivolcs
TSUNAMIS ARE rare in the Philippines, but the country remains vulnerable to giant sea swells due to offshore faults and trenches, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) cautions in observance of World Tsunami Day on Nov. 5. “We should be aware of all the earthquake hazards that could affect us, and prepare for it, not only the ground shaking caused by large earthquakes, but also other hazards like tsunami,” Undersecretary Renato U. Solidum, Jr., officer-in-charge of Phivolcs, said in a statement. The country is surrounded by offshore trenches such as those in Manila, Negros, Sulu, Cotabato, the Philippine Trench in the east, and the East Luzon Trough. Mr, Solidum said it is crucial to sustain community-level awareness about earthquakes and tsunamis, focusing on the recognition of natural signs, as well as setting up warning and evacuation procedures. One of the past tsunamis was in Mindoro on Nov.15, 1994, triggered by a magnitude 7.1 earthquake, where 38 people drowned. Mr. Solidum said, “It is important we learn from the past experiences so we know how we can prepare in case it happen again in the future.”