According to reports, more than 70 people have been killed in the 6.9 earthquake in the province of Hostel in the Philippines. Many houses have been destroyed, and the loss can be said to be severe, coupled with the recent succession of typhoons, which poses a huge challenge to local rescue. Why is the earthquake in the Philippines so severe?

On September 30, at 21:59 p.m., a 6.9 earthquake occurred in the waters near the city of Bogo in the province of Hostel, Philippines, with a earthquake source depth of 10 kilometers, belonging to the extremely shallow earthquake. First, the 6.9 level already belongs to a very large earthquake, and the energy released is huge. Although the size of the earthquake level is not the only factor determining the damage, but the main factor. Other factors include the depth of the earthquake source, the location of the earthquake, the time of occurrence, the earthquake resistance of buildings, the geological conditions, the person's earthquake awareness and many other factors.

We look at the earthquake again, the magnitude of the earthquake is high, the earthquake is low, and happens at night, most people are at home resting or entering the dreamland, unprepared for sudden disasters, leaving for people to react and escape very short time. The Philippines as a developing country, the economy is backward, many old houses and non-formal buildings lack strict earthquake resistance standards. The vast majority of the earthquake-caused casualties come from the collapse of houses.

In addition to the recent typhoon multi-season, several typhoons have landed in the Philippines, bringing additional difficulties to rescue, many disasters, water shutdowns, unable to get rescue supplies in time, life is not guaranteed, and even some people are on the streets to protest, demanding relevant persons to step down.

For comparison, we can take a look at the casualties of earthquakes of similar magnitude in other places. There were no casualties in a 7.1-magnitude earthquake in Wushi County, Xinjiang. This year, there was an earthquake of magnitude 8 or above in Kamchatka, and there were almost no casualties, all because the epicenter was sparsely populated. Of course, there are earthquakes that are worse than the casualties in the Philippines. For example, the 6.1-magnitude earthquake in Afghanistan in early September this year caused thousands of deaths. The Jishishan 6.2-magnitude earthquake in 2023 also killed more than 150 people, all due to the superposition of unfavorable factors such as large magnitude, shallow source, dense population, poor housing quality, and occurrence at night.

Overall, the damage caused by this earthquake in the Philippines is at a medium level, and there are many factors that determine the damage. As a country with frequent earthquakes, only by continuously improving various safeguard measures can we reduce casualties and losses when the next earthquake comes. To a minimum.