Earthquake Preparedness in Manila
By: Grady Fleming
Description and Rationale
Earthquakes in the Philippines – The effect on people
The Philippines is located on two major plates, one of them is the Philippine Plate and the other one is the Eurasian. A few weeks ago on March 11, there was a massive earthquake in Japan. The Philippines is located on the plate that the earthquake happened. It is possible and very likely that a large size earthquake could hit the Philippines.
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What are some of the effects that an earthquake could have on people living in the Philippines? What about the water shortage. Could there possibly be enough clean water to give out to so many people living in Manila? How about people’s mental conditions? Could an earthquake do as much damage as to effect its population and buildings that it could never recover again? Should people be notified of what they should have in their houses at all times just in case there is an earthquake and they have to evacuate?
Are there ways to prevent water shortage, or to prevent people from being unprepared? These days many considerations have been made due to the earthquake in Japan, even here at Faith Academy people are talking about how to be prepared for an earthquake. Why was the preparation of earthquakes being disregarded before the earthquake in Japan? Was it just that no one thought a massive earthquake could strike here in the Philippines or did people just not care enough to do anything? What if there were simple ways to survive in bad conditions? Would people actually use these tactics or would they not thinking that they are going to die anyways? Many questions are not yet answered.
The initial purpose of this project will be to research the biology and ecology of the Philippines under grave earthquake conditions, through a search of literature as well as firsthand observations and interviews with people in Japan and in the Philippines ( with the assistance of a Tagalog-speaking interpreter). These initial findings will help guide the experimental phase, where key questions will be answered about massive earthquakes and how people respond to them.
It is hoped that I will be able to find information on massive earthquakes as well as how much drinking water available there will be and how people react. I hope this project will help many people understand about earthquakes and how deadly they are.
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Biology
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Common Names and Synonyms
E. coli is also called Escherichia coli. The name is also E. coli in Tagalog. There are different types of E. coli that do different things in different places, Enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC) causes diarrhea without causing a fever, Enteropathogenic E. coli(EPEC) which causes diarrhea, and EnteroinvasiveE. coli (EIEC) is only found in humans. These are only three types, but there are many more types of E. coli.
Classification
Kingdom: Bacteria
Phylum: Proteobacteria (nitrogen fixing bacteria and pathogens)
Class: Gammaproteobacteria (facultative anaerobic and fermentative gram-negative bacteria)
Order: Enterobacteriales (Rod shaped gram-negative bacteria)
Family: Enterobacteriaceae (Natural rod shaped gram-negative bacteria)
Genus: Escherichia (Rod shaped bacteria in intestines)
Species: E. coli ( A bacillus)
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Morphology and Physical Description
The E. coli is a single celled structure that is 2~3 micrometers long. It is bacillus (rod-shaped), a prokaryote, and has a flagellum (whip like tail that helps cell move). The pili on the outer cell membrane help the cell move along with flagella. E. coli is also known as a gram-negative bacterium. This bacterium has a very simple outward appearance.
The flagella are very interesting and have an extremely complex design. Flagella are firm screw-like appendages (10-20 microns in length and approximately 25 nm wide) anchored to the outer membrane. They rotate clockwise or counterclockwise in a propeller like fashion to facilitate bacterial movement. When flagella rotate counterclockwise this creates a pushing force that allows the bacterium to move
Although it is called a simple cell, it has many parts in it, the cell wall and inner cell membrane, a periplasm (space between the inner cytoplasmic membrane and external outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria). It also has crystalline S layer which is one of the most outer most cell envelope, the cytoplasm, storage granules which is a secretory vesicle, a nucleotide and poly-ribosomes.
There are two internal features that are unique. The periplasm, which is about 10 nm thick, occupies between 10 and 20 percent of the volume of an E. colicell. It is the space between the inner and outer membrane and houses both proteins and the cell wall (peptidoglycan). It is thought to help in osmoregulation. The periplasm contains a number of proteins essential for nutrient binding, degradative enzymes (proteases, endonucleases), detoxifying enzymes (beta lactamase), peptidoglycan synthesis, cytochromes (electron transport) and chemotaxis or chemosensing proteins. The periplasm contains approximately 80,000 proteins.
The other unique feature is, the cell wall which lies just below the outer membrane is composed of peptidoglycan which is covalently bound to the outer membrane. The cell wall prevents the cell from being osmotically split and gives the cell its characteristic shape.
Getting Food
E. coli is a facultatively anaerobic chemoorganotroph (organisms which use organic compounds as their energy source) capable of both respiratory and fermentative metabolism. E. coli serves a useful function in the body by suppressing the growth of harmful bacteria species and by synthesising appreciable amounts of vitamins. E. coli feeds on undigested nutrients in the intestines of mammals.
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Reproduction
E. coli can reproduce in two different ways, cell division, and conjugation which is the transfer of genetic information through a sex pilus. Although conjugation may sound like a sexual way of reproducing, it is not. It is asexual because there is no fusion of gametes present in the process. Cell division is just making an exact copy of the DNA in the cell and then dividing. This is the most prevalent form of reproduction in E. coli. Conjugation is when twoE. coliconnect through a sex pili and exchange genetic information.
Environmental Factors
The E. coli bacteria live in intestines of warm blooded animals, such as pigs, sheep, goats, cattle, horses, birds and even humans. The E. coli bacterium has also been found in a few cold blooded animals such as fish and turtles. They live in unclean water, including recreational water. Some have a commensalism symbiosis relationship meaning they don’t harm the organism they live in, while others have a parasitic symbiosis relationship where they make the one they live in sick. Optimal growth of E. coli occurs at the temperatures of 37℃ (98.6 ℉).
The only thing that is known as a competitor to E. coli is vaccine, which created by humans and isn’t natural.
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Origin and Distribution
If you believe in creationism, than E. coli was on this planet inside animals from the beginning of the earth multiplying when they had a chance, so this bacterium was first in the Philippines when a warm blooded animal or some human beings came to the Philippine islands. They survive best in 37℃ so it is very easy to survive in the Philippines, even in the air.
Importance to People
E. coli is a bacterium that causes disease, and in some cases, even causes death. It usually causes diarrhea and, or a high fever. Because of this it is often feared by humans. But it also has a major role in science since it has been studied and observed for such a long time.
E. coli plays a very important role in modern biological engineering and industrial micro biology. The work of Stanley Norman Cohen and Herbert Boyer in E.coli, using plasmids and restriction enzymes to create recombinant DNA, forming a foundation in biotechnology.
One of the first useful applications of recombinant DNA technology was the manipulation of E. coli to produce human insulin. Also modified E. coli have been used in vaccine development, bioremediation (the use of microorganism metabolism to remove pollutants), and production of immobilized enzymes (an enzyme that is attached to an inert).
Survivability and Endangered Status
E. coli is everywhere in the environment. It is not endangered at all. This is because it can survive almost anywhere and most moderate temperatures. They dwell in all warm-blooded animals intestines including birds, and humans. They also dwell in some cold-blooded intestines such as fish and turtles. The reason why they can survive is because it can survive anywhere, and in most temperatures they can reproduce easily. They also don’t have competition for getting food.
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Potential Solutions
Possibility 1
Evacuation Map
Through research it was found that some sites on the internet have already researched these evacuation sites and made maps for people. Since the Typhoon Ondoy in 2010 the preparedness of evacuation in the Philippines has risen, and GMA News of the Philippines has made a map for people who live in Metro Manila.
Advantages:
1. People who live in these areas would be helped a lot if they could have an evacuation map. They would know where to go if a disaster hit, and they could be relieved and not panic. Just by having this map, it could keep confusion from happening and save many lives.
2. People could have access with these places and be sure that they could go there and be safe if a disaster strikes that area.
Disadvantages:
1. Not everyone in the Philippines has internet access. And it would be too much work to go out and give people maps that they may not even use in their lifetime. People could find it useless and throw it away because they don’t think they need it.
2. A lot of research and work is required to make an earthquake map and give it out to people, and it would not be a logical for one person to take on this task. If more people were to be involved then this would be a good option, but because at the moment only one person would be involved it is not such a good option.
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Possibility 2
Boil and Cleanse
Filtering water always sounds like a lot of work, even if it may be done it is hard to make and it doesn’t always work. So why not boil the water. It is very easy to do and all you need is a pot, water and a fire.
Advantages:
1. Even people with limited amount of supplies can do this. Go fetch some water from a river, make a fire, boil it and then drink the water. A very simple process and can be done by almost anyone.
2. It is very cheap. Doesn’t cost much money at all. In fact, if you already have a pot it can be done for free.
Disadvantages:
1. The water could spill, and cause severe injuries like burns. If this happened, more casualties would occur and more spaces in hospitals would be taken.
2. There may be no place to start a fire. In these situations, this would not be an available option.
3. It cannot be done on a massive scale, so people that don’t have pots could not be able to do this.
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Possibility 3
E.E.E. Bag (Earthquake Emergency Evacuation Bag)
Having an E.E.E. Bag has proven to be very useful in the massive earthquake in Japan on March 11, 2011. Many people in Japan have bags of this sort, just in case an earthquake strikes like this past one did. It has saved many lives. There are many things in these emergency bags. Below are some of the things that will be useful in a disaster. Cash, identity, a health card, bottled water, canned food or chips (things high in calories), cell phone, tissue, plastic bags, towels, matches/lighter, a candles, charcoal, flashlight, batteries, portable radio, plastic cling film, a picture of your family, paper and pen and a whistle. These things can be very useful in a case where evacuation is needed. If it is right by a door, when the evacuator leaves the house they can pick it up and go straight to the evacuation center without thinking.
Advantages:
1.It would reduce the amount of stress that a human being would have if it hadn’t had an E.E.E. Bag.
2.People would always be ready to evacuate after a natural disaster, such as a massive earthquake or a tidal wave. There would be a less need of supplies immediately after a natural disaster if many families decided to do this.
3.It is portable. It is not too big or heavy to carry around on ones back, so even if the person evacuating was in a hurry they would not get slowed down by this bag.
Disadvantages:
1.If the person who is preparing this for their home is struggling to get their food everyday then it may not be a good idea, because it does cost money.
2.Changing of the bottled water and food is required. It is possible that someone would forget to do this and have bad water and food to eat in a state of emergency.
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It wasn’t that hard to gather all the things in an E.E.E. Bag. The only thing that was hard to get was a radio, and that did not take too long to get. People should get an E.E.E. Bag and place it near their door, because it is so useful. Through research it found that just having a whistle could help a lot, because if a person is under rubble and needs help, then the person could blow a whistle, and the rescuers could help them a lot faster because they would know where to look.
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Bibliography
Bibliography
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