EARTHQUAKE 101

Panic, terror and shock filled the whole place. People were in daze, we were supposed to be eating happily with our family when all the happiness faded in just a shake of the ground. October 16, 2019 left a big mark, at exactly 7:37 PM when a traumatic experience that will forever be etched in the memories of Mindanaoans happened. A 6.3 magnitude earthquake hit Mindanao and brought panic all over the place. And the rest was history. But, curiosity strikes us unconsciously. Some SCNHS students expressed their inquiriess.

Can we predict earthquakes?

DICT installs Pipol Konek

Students benefit free wi-fi access

August One DABON pd sh fy

Sta. Cruz National High School has been one of the proponents installed with Pipol Konek, free-wifi access, by the Department of Information Communications Technology (DICT) of Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur to give internet access without buying load for data subscription.

Pipol Konek is being used by the students and teachers for school-related purposes such as for researches and making reports.

According to Engr. Edward Tukim that the public wifi was a project of DICT and they are still continuing to install access points around the municipality.

He added that its success is evident on the considerable number of individuals who were able to access it.

The internet speed of Pipol Konek is at 8mbps for 32 users and guaranteed 256kbps per user.

"Dako kaayo siya ug tabang sa amoa isip mga estudyante. Ilabi na nga wala mi tarong library, at least, pinaagi aning free wi-fi nga gikan sa DICT, maka-research mi sa among mga assignments," Joseph Adan, a twelth-grader said.

He also reminded that availers of free wi-fi should be utilized responsibly.

No. No scientist can predict a major earthquake. Some people say they can predict earthquakes, but they are not based on scientific evidence, and earthquakes are part of a scientific process. According to USGS, an earthquake prediction must define three elements: 1) the date and time, 2) the location, and 3) the magnitude. For example, earthquakes have nothing to do with clouds, bodily aches and pains, or slugs. They do not define all three of the elements required for a prediction.

Is climate change a factor of producing earthquakes?

According to Floris Wu (2018), global average temperature is rising at an increasingly faster rate and is already more than one degree centigrade higher than preindustrial times. Climate change can’t cause quakes in the solid earth that couldn’t have happened otherwise. But if we don’t act upon it immediately, our mother earth could be shaking us sooner and stronger than we ever expected.

Are there man-made earthquakes?

Earthquakes are known to be natural occurences that are out of conrtrol of humans. Though it's natural, humans can even trigger a much massive effect in an earthquake. According to Prof. Bohnhoff, land conversion, mining, extraction of natural resources such as potash, coal, crude oil or natural gas, and many other human activities can intensify the aftermath of the earthquake, and the worse, could even destroy a lot of structures, and even lives.