(Map and flag from CIA.gov)
To say the Philippines is located in an active tectonic region is putting it mildly. You can see on the USGS map below the Philippine Sea Plate borders the island nation to the East, subducting under the Sunda Plate, while the Eurasian Plate is subducting under the west coast of Luzon.
"The 1,200-km-long Philippine fault zone (PFZ) is a major tectonic feature that transects the whole Philippine archipelago from northwestern Luzon to southeastern Mindanao. This arc-parallel, left-lateral strike slip fault is divided into several segments and has been the source of large-magnitude earthquakes in recent years." (The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology)
Earthquakes and volcanoes are a part of life in the Philippines, as well as tsunamis, typhoons, flooding and landslides.
(Map from USGS)
References: http://www.gov.ph/, https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/rp.html, http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2010/1083/m/, http://www.phivolcs.dost.gov.ph/
Good job on your blog! I visited Manila a few years ago and it is a very crowded city. What I was really surprised to find was that the roads in the city did not have any lanes! Drivers were constantly honking and cutting in front of each other. I would suffer road rage every single day if I lived there. I find it quite frightening to live in a very crowded city that is prone to many disasters. I remember when Super Typhoon "Yolanda" struck the Philippines back in 2013, it was absolutely devastating. The thousands of lost lives that were lost is just heartbreaking.
ReplyDeleteYes, the Philippines is in the typhoon belt.
DeleteIf you think the roads are bad, you should see them when they flood! Then you don't need to worry about seeing the lines. Maybe since they have an average of 6-7 typhoons a year, with moderate to severe flooding, they don't bother to paint lines, since you won't be able to see them most months of the year.