Haiyan (Pablo) - The Historical Supertyphoon

The NASA Guide of Air-Filtering Plants

What plants to install in your dwelling places to naturally filter the air around you. From NASA in one big infographic.

The Big Three - Sheltering (Part 2)

In the preceding post we saw the importance of sheltering in the case of rain and how annoying it could be to be unprotected under pouring water, even to the point of danger.

However dangerous it could be, one scenario is worse than rain falling on you, it is wind and rain together striking you. In that combination, wind is the worst as it gives more energy and velocity to the rain drops falling on you. And the stronger the wind, the stronger the drops to the point of being extremely painful when it hits you.

But wind is a danger by itself, even without rain. Depending on the strength it could help refresh you on a hot summer day or making debris flying around and kill you. Most of the time, wind is quite innocuous, even welcomed - especially in countries like the Philippines or Indonesia where heat is potent.

However, in the region of the West-Pacific there is also another kind of wind occurrences which is way less pleasant - Typhoons (or Hurricanes, or Cyclones - different regional name for the same kind of disastrous storm). You see, behind typhoons lies one of the worst natural weapon the Earth is capable of - Wind.

We are not speaking here of a refreshing breeze, but about an atmospheric system the size of a country with wind which could go to 325 km/h (200mph) like the late Hurricane Patricia who, on October 23, 2015, made landfall in Mexico. It was the strongest wind recorded in a hurricanes, even Super-Typhoon Hayian (Yolanda) did not reach that wind intensity with its 230km/h.

Those kind of speed are the one you find in intense tornadoes. Well, imagine a tornado the size of a country and you have a good idea of what a typhoon (hurricane, cyclone) can be. Either it could be seen as a humongous vacuum cleaner or a wind Karsher, but in every cases, nearly nothing stand.

Before & After Super-Typhoon Hayian (Yolanda) - Philippines 2013

A wooden beam transformed in a missile kind of debris

When a typhoon strikes you have to be in a shelter at all cost. The wind referred to above not only are destructive, but they transform any debris in a powerful weapon that will kill you. In some instances debris could have so much energy that it could even pierce a brick wall or a tree trunk, what do you think it could do to your body?

Whether you have 100 liters of water or 300 tons of food in store for emergency, if you are not protected from something like typhoons it will not serve you well because everything would fly around, not speaking about you being wounded or killed. So a shelter is extremely important.

Take the time to think about one of the first thing they do in disasters relief management is to build fast shelter for people? Because you need to be protected from the elements, it is vital for the welfare of people. We all need to feel secured, but it is never as true as in a disaster zone where people lost everything except their own life.

Whether you live in the West-Pacific or anywhere in the world for that matter, wind could become a serious danger if you are not able to protect yourself. A good shelter is a basic requirement to protect you and your family from the effects of the wind.

Next time we will see another good reason to have a shelter, and it has to do with Heat.

Until next post, Mabuhay!

To Learn More

Sever Weather safety and Survival - NOAA

Videos

Debris Impact Testing (Wind)

The Big Three : Sheltering (Part 1)

In my first post about preparedness for disaster Prepare Yourself, Know the Basics! I presented the main list to keep in mind when preparing for an eventual disaster. In  Prepare Yourself, Shelter, Water and Food, I developed a little bit more on the Big Threes of preparation. 

With this post and the consecutive ones of this series, I will go a little bit deeper on each one of the Big Three. In today's post we will begin with the Shelter. As said before, it could appear a strange thing that the shelter is seen as more important than the water in a situation of preparedness. But when considered in its general context it makes a lot of sense to think about protecting yourself first, before even considering the question of Water and Food.

First, let's make things clear here, in the Big Threes the notion of Shelter is to be taken in its general sense, more like a protection from outside elements (those elements could be natural or human). The notion of shelter can then apply to Clothes, House, Tents, Shelter per se. In every case it is there as a way of protection, as in a state of emergency where you need to be shielded from external danger.

For instance

• If there was a Typhoon going on, you would need to be protected from debris flying around.
• If there was a looting going on you would have to protect your belongings (and all the Survival Food and Water you saved).
• If it was a Drought going on you would have to protect your water supply and have some shadows to keep yourself from the Sun.

But, for sure, in every Emergency situation, you would need to protect the most important for you - your life, and the life of those you care of. So sheltering is extremely important and should be placed first in Emergency Preparation.

This being said, and for good measure, let's develop the idea of Shelter with examples with four different cases : The Rain Case, The Wind Case, The Heat Case, The Cold Case. 

In this post let's stop to the first of our list, 

THE RAIN CASE

For most of us, it looks like the most obvious and logical reason to have a shelter of some sort (clothes, house, tents, etc) is to shield us from the rain. If rain can be a nice thing in the absolute, no one of us like to be under the rain or see the rain falling for too long - giving time it permeates everything, goes on your face, in your eyes, or on the windshield of the car preventing good visibility. It slow down your movement, it is sticky on the skin and definitively annoying in your shoes. In every case, the rain make any situation difficult to work or act in. Ask builders, gardeners, farmers... or someone who had to change a wheel under the rain what they really think about...

Now, take a simple rainy condition and put it in the context of a disaster and you have a heavy cocktail to deal with. Everything, absolutely everything is slowed down in rainy condition, emergency services can't do their work properly and victims see their condition worsen.

In a case of disaster we must be able to think and act with clarity, as such we must avoid, or at a minimum diminish, the impact of anything, like the rain, which can prevent us to act and think clearly.Shelter is important in every situation, but even vital when it comes to disaster. 

Any type of Shelter is our protection, our shield, against external danger in every conditions, but even more so when it comes to disasters. Rain is one of those conditions which can go from normal to disastrous. Yet, if you think rain can be a problem, wait until we look into the Wind Case.

Until next post, Mabuhay!

To learn more

Primitive Survival Shelters

How To Build A Survival Shelter

How To Fortify Shelter Against The Elements

Building Shelter Without Tools

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Shaky foundations

Here we are in a new year, at least according to the Roman Calendar, for other like the Chinese one the new year is still to come, as well as for the Hebrews and other. In anyway, now that the big fiesta has come and gone, we can come back and focus again into blogging.

After the series Jojo vs Earthquake in which I went deeper into the Earth to lay down the foundation of the Earthquake phenomenon, I will now come back to the surface of our planet, where we live, and begin to look into the Earthquakes itself, their impacts and consequences, and how we, humans, we can mitigate those consequences.

First things first, when it comes to earthquakes, what is the map of the main tectonic plates of the planet?

As you can see, this planet is quite a jigsaw puzzle, and we live on that jigsaw puzzle for the best or the worst.Some plates are huge compare to others, but they all move due to underground movement mainly in the Mantle. That movement makes those different plates collide with each other smoothly or brutally, it is that plate motion which leads to earthquakes.

The Philippines themselves are more specifically located in the West-Pacific Ocean Basin. Geographically the Philippines are situated on what is generally known as the Pacific Ring of Fire - the most seismically active region of the planet. 

Invisible to our eyes, the country is crossed by many faultlines, the focal point of earthquakes. The two biggest faultlines are the Trenches laying under the sea. One Trench is located on the West side of Luzon (Manila Trench), the other Trench is located on the East side of the Visayas and Mindanao (Philippine Trench). Smaller Trenches exist as well like the Cotabato Trench, Negros Trench and Sulu Trench (all located on the West of Mindanao under sea)

As a matter of fact, although the Philippines are seen as one country, geologically speaking it is a divided country - Luzon is part of the Philippines Plate, where the Visayas and Mindanao are part of the Eurasian Plate. It has real implication when you understand that being on two different plates, that also mean that they entirely depend on the motion of each of those plates. 

As far as we know the general motion of the Philippine Plate and the Eurasian Plate is a move in opposite direction on a collision course. The Philippine Plate moves in a Westward direction, where the Eurasian Plate moves in a Eastward direction. This Tectonic collision is what is at the basis of the Earthquakes in the Philippines.

That Tectonic motion is unstoppable and unavoidable, we have to live with it. Filipinos, and all of those who, like me, choose to live here live really on shaky foundations indeed. But hey, is it not true that it is more fun in the Philippines?

Mabuhay!

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Jojo vs Earthquakes (Part 5)

We arrived at the end, - nearly, - of our journey through Earth's Layers.

Here in the depth of our planet lies the Core, although we should say Cores plural. The Core is viewed as a two distinct part region, both making the Core of the Earth, but in two different states - one liquid (Outer Core), one solid (Inner Core). It happen that, according to last research there could even be an inner inner core. Whatever way you look at it, it is extremely hot. The hottest part of the Core is at a nice 6000°C (10,800°F), or to put it differently, it is as hot as the surface temperature of our Sun. Not bad for a small planet...

Both layer are composed of the same alloy - Nickel-Iron. It is the pressure which dictates the state of the alloy. In the case of the Outer Layer, the nickel-iron alloy is in liquid form (10 times the viscosity of liquid metal on the surface of the Earth). In the case of the Inner Core, the nickel-iron alloy is in solid form because the pressure is so high that it prevents the alloy to become liquid.

THE OUTER CORE

When we quit the Mantle layer, we meet the Outer Core 2,890Km (1,800 Miles) beneath our feet. 

As mentioned above, the Outer Core is made up of a liquid nickel-iron alloy. It's temperature ranges from 4,030°C (7,280°F) at the Mantle-Core Boundary to 5,730°C (10,340°F) at the Outer-Inner Core Boundary. It's thickness is around 2,300Km (1,400 Miles).

THE INNER CORE

Continuing our travel through the Core, we finally reach the Inner Core 5,150Km (3,200 Miles) beneath Earth's Surface, it is the deepest layer of our planet. As solid ball of nickel-iron, it is massive sphere of 70% the Moon's Radius in size (around 1220Km radius or around 760 Miles). 

It is here that we find the highest temperatures (around 6000°C) and the highest pressure (between 330 and 360 Gigapascal - or in lay man's term between 3,3 millions and 3,6 millions the atmospheric pressure)

Since they are so deep in our planet we could think that it is not so important on our human level. After all don't we live way above the Core, on the Crust? 

But if you remember what I said in Jojo vs Earthquake (Part 2), the Earthquakes are born from the movement of the Crust, and that global Crust movement is a result of Convection Current formed deep into our planet due to heat transfer through Earth's Layers. So the heat below our feet is quite effective on us at the surface as a collateral (and sometimes deadly) effect.

Besides, the Core, and the interaction between the Inner and Outer layer of the Core is vital to us as it is the place where our Magnetic Shield is formed. 

Without the Magnetic Field created by the Core of our planet you can say goodbye to all life on this planet, yours included. 

Although it is not Earthquake related, I will come to that on a next post when addressing another kind of Natural Disaster we should prepare for.

At least, now, we know a little bit more about what's beneath our feet. With that knowledge, although basic, we can visualize and better understand the Earthquakes phenomenon, as well as the Volcanoes phenomenon. So, in the next posts we will quit the Inner Core and come back to the Surface and look at things on a human scale.

Until then, thank you for reading.

Mabuhay!

To learn more

Wikipedia - The Structure of the Earth

Wikipedia - The Outer Core

Wikipedia - The Inner Core

National Geographic Education - Inside the Earth

USGS - Inside the Earth

Georgia State University - Structure of the Earth

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Jojo vs Earthquakes (Part 4)

Let's continue our overview of our planet's inside.

In Jojo vs Earthquake (Part 3) I listed the four big layers composing Earth. In that part I also covered the Crust Layer. Today, going deeper and below the Crust, we meet the Mantle. 

THE MANTLE LAYER

The Mantle is the biggest part of our planet with its 2,900 Km (1,802 Miles) thickness, it represent 84% of the whole volume of the planet, and 64% of its entire mass. It is there that usually the big activity is going on : Convection current and Magma formation, as well as contribution to mountain formation (orogeny). 

The Crust itself, the part on which we live, is at the receiving end of that action resulting in earthquakes, volcanic activity, seafloor spreading, continental drift, and Plate Tectonic. 

The Mantle is also particularly hot, and the deeper you go, the hotter it gets. For instance, near the boundary between the Crust and the Mantle it is 1000°C (1832°F), on the other end, near the Mantle and Upper Core boundary, the temperature reaches 3700°C (6692°F).

Although it is considered, in simple general term, as one big solid layer, it is a misconception. Scientist have divided it in four different zones, each with really different qualities - Upper Mantle, Transition Zone, Lower Mantle, D'' 

Upper Mantle

That first zone, around 410 Km (255 Miles) thick, extend from the Crust to the Transition Zone. Mainly solid, it contains more fluid part (for instance, rock in thick liquid form like Lava) at the level of the asthenosphere (the part of the Mantle which is between the Crust and the Mantle).

Transition Zone

The second zone of the Mantle is around 250 kilometers thick (between 410Km and 660Km beneath Earth's Surface). In that zone, the rocks transforms and their crystalline structure changes radically. The rocks, although submitted to high pressure and heat, does not melt or disintegrate but they get way more dense.

Lower Mantle 

The third zone is called, simply enough, the Lower Mantle. Around 2,050 Km thick, it extend from 660km to around 2,700Km beneath Earth's Surface. That zone is hotter and denser than the two preceding zones. The Lower Mantle zone is still subject to a lot of debate and research.

D'' (D prime prime)

Finally, we arrive at the last and fourth zone of the Mantle called D'' (D double prime), a fancy name for another Transition Zone. I know it's a strange name, but they like it like that. That zone extend from 2,700Km to 2,900Km beneath the Earth's Surface (around 200Km thick). 

Because of its complexity D'', like the Lower Mantle zone, is still subject to debate and research.

Here we are, deep in the Earth, just at the boundary with the super hot Upper Core (they even gave a name to that boundary - the Gutenberg Discontinuity). So, next time we will jump into hot liquid nickel-iron toward the last layer of our dear planet.

Mabuhay!

Geophysic Blog

Georneys

The Trembling Earth

The Landslide Blog

Magma Cum Laude

To Learn More

National Geographic - The Mantle

Wikipedia - Mantle (Geology)

About Geology - The Mantle's Structure

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Prepare Yourself - Shelter, Water and Food

In Prepare Yourself, Know the Basics! I touched superficially on different things to prepare to face any potential disaster.

Remember that, as a country, the Philippines sits right upon the Pacific Ring of Fire the most seismically active part of the world. Beside the Earthquakes, the Philippines knows some really active Volcanic area, is a country straight in the path of the West-Pacific Typhoon activity, prone to flooding, prone to landslide... And I only speak here about Potential Natural Disasters, not even the Human one.

Let's make a small historical list here of really big events to show how much prone to Natural Disaster the Philippines are. This list is just there to demonstrate a point about the potential hazards everyone living in the Philippines as to take into count (fill in the gap, since nearly every year there is some disasters in the Philippines). 

• Luzon Quake 1990
• Mount Pinatubo 1991
• Eastern Samar Earthquake 2012
• Bohol Earthquake 2013
• Super-Typhoon Yolanda (Hayian) 2013

In every, I insist, in EVERY cases people were not prepared to face it. Why so? Do you find normal that between a disaster like Mount Pinatubo Eruption in 1991 and Super-Typhoon Yolanda in 2013 people still did not learn to be prepared for those things? After each disaster we witness the same pattern : Starvation & Looting. Do you know that you can prevent that for you and your family? 

Yes, you can, through a lesson that in more than 20 years, people still did not learn : BE PREPARED!

True, you can't prevent an Earthquake to happen, you can't prevent a Volcano to erupt and you can't prevent a Typhoon to strike. But, in our case, prevention is not about preventing a natural disaster to happen, it is about giving ourselves the mean to survive the disaster, and to go through with as less damage as possible for us and the one we love.

In this post I will make an overview of the three main items to always keep in mind in any potential disasters natural or man-made is these big three items - Shelter, Water, and Food. 




SHELTER

It could appear a strange thing that shelter is seen as more important than water. And as far as I know this is the order you will find on any Emergency Survival website. Well, in many ways it make sense. 

First the notion of shelter is to be taken in its general sense, more like a protection from outside elements. Those elements could be natural or human. In a state of emergency you need to be shielded from external danger. 

-  If there was a Typhoon going on, you would need to be protected from debris flying around.
-  If there was a looting going on you would have to protect your belongings (and all the Survival Food and Water you saved).
-  If it was a Drought going on you would have to protect your water supply and have some shadows to keep yourself from the Sun.

But, for sure, in every Emergency situation, you would need to protect the most important for you - your life, and the life of those you care of. So sheltering is extremely important and should be placed first in Emergency Preparation.

WATER

Beside the air you inhale, water is the most essential of all the things we need in life. Pretty simple, without water there is no human life possible on this planet. It is said that three days without water and you are dead. It is an average, but which hold true. 

The human body absolutely need water to work. The human body is made up of around 80% water, all the bodily function needs that water to support themselves, and that water balance in our body must be kept for the body to work correctly, if it doesn't the body has to take the water where it is, in itself. And that's the beginning of water depletion in your own body : dehydration.

It is advised to always have at minimum three days of water supply at hand in any situation. But two weeks is generally what survivalist will counsel to have because in the case of a disaster you can not rely on Emergency Services to reach you right away (What happened during Super-Typhoon Hayian/Yolanda is a perfect example of that).

Yet, be careful to take into account each individual you purpose to protect through preparation. The quantity of water which is advised is around 4 liters (1 gallon) per day per person. (and don't forget your pets if you have some). This is a minimum needed to stay in good condition... as far as water goes. 

But now, to really keep yourself in good condition you need to add something more to your body than just water, you need food.

FOOD

Although this item is listed as the last one, it remain an important one.

Most of our energy comes from what we eat, be vegetables or meat we need them in our diet.

But in a Disaster situation that food we need so much could not be available for days. Again Typhoon Yolanda is a reminder of the extreme situation people could face. Without food, and out of desperation, people resort to looting and rioting... and even killing. 

One of the primal instinct of human beings is to survive, and for that people are ready to go to extreme they would never go to in normal situation. And that's the point, a disaster is, by definition, an abnormal situation, a glitch in the usual way things are going. Being prepared and ready for it is the wisest thing to do.

You should always have some food storage, and preferably things which doesn't spoil easily. This is true for every country, but especially in a hot and wet country like the Philippines. Remember, in case of a disaster chances are that there will be no electricity for a long time, and no electricity means no fridge working. So, in you Emergency Storage avoid things like fresh veggies, fresh fish and meat.

and go for can food and dry food.

Well, here we are. At the end of this post. Those three things mentioned above are what you always have to use as a foundation for your own welfare. You can't go far without food and water, and without a shelter you have no protection at all. 

Keep in mind, disaster is not just for your neighbor or some far away land. Nature doesn't know any frontiers or boundaries, an Earthquake, a Typhoon, or any other Natural Hazards will not stop and present its passport before entering the country. It will just go through whether we like it or not. 

The question is are you ready for the eventuality? PREPARE YOURSELF !

Mabuhay!

Useful Links
Basic Survival Skills
Awareness and Preparadness  Materials
Your Emergency Preparedness Guide

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