ESTIMATED THE 1990 LUZON

MAGNITUDE 7.8
EARTHQUAKE
THE MASSIVE 7.8-MAGNITUDE EARTHQUAKE
THAT STRUCK THE ISLAND OF LUZON IN THE
PHILIPPINES ON JULY 16, 1990.
• THE EPICENTER OF THE QUAKE,
WHICH STRUCK AT 4:26 P.M.,
WAS AT THE NORTH OF MANILA
IN THE NUEVA ECIJA
PROVINCE.
• AT CHRISTIAN COLLEGE, A SIX-STORY BUILDING COMPLETELY COLLAPSED, TRAPPING APPROXIMATELY
250 STUDENTS AND TEACHERS INSIDE. HEROIC RESCUE EFFORTS SAVED MANY, BUT SOME VICTIMS
WHO DID NOT DIE IN THE COLLAPSE WERE FOUND DEAD LATER FROM DEHYDRATION BECAUSE THEY WERE
NOT PULLED OUT IN TIME.
• ALL TYPES OF BUILDINGS, INCLUDING SEVERAL
RESORT HOTELS IN BAGUIO, KNOWN AS THE
PHILIPPINES’ SUMMER CAPITAL, SUFFERED
TREMENDOUS DAMAGE.
 AB LE SEIS M IC EV ENTS W AS THE POWERFUL
• ONE OF ITS MOST MEMOR 90 , W HICH RESULTED IN A
ISLA ND O F LU ZO N IN 19
QUAKE THAT STRUCK THE M A TED $369-MILLION
ILDINGS, LE FT AN ES TI
NUMBER OF COLLAPSED BU
G ES , AND A TO TAL OF  2 ,4 12 PEOPLE DEAD.
WORTH OF DAMA
• THE EARTHQUAKE LEFT NOT JUST MASSIVE DAMAGE AND CASUALTIES, BUT ALSO LESSONS ABOUT
DISASTER READINESS, PHILIPPINE INSTITUTE OF VOLCANOLOGY AND SEISMOLOGY DIRECTOR DR.
RENATO SOLIDUM SAID THE 1990 EARTHQUAKE LEFT FOUR VALUABLE LESSONS: THE PUBLIC NEEDS TO
RESPOND PROPERLY DURING EARTHQUAKES, HAZARDS AND THEIR EFFECTS SHOULD BE
SIMULATED, BUILDING CODES SHOULD BE IMPLEMENTED PROPERLY, AND LAND USE SHOULD BE
CAREFULLY PLANNED.