Deadly quake flattens tourists' paradise in Philippines
Manila:The death toll in last Tuesday's earthquake in central Philippines has crossed 180
while another 600 people visited hospitals seeking treatment for injuries, most of these
casualties having been caused by house collapses in the islands of Bohol, a well-known
tourist destination, and Cebu in the serial tremors at a magnitude of 7.2 on the Richter scale.
The centre of the quake was south south-east of manila, at Catigbian, according to the US
Geological Survey, and it shook from 20 km beneath. Most of the devastation was seen in
Bohol island. About 30 lakh people have been affected in all across six provinces. People
slept on the roads as aftershocks continued overnight. Seventeen ancient stone churches,
including Bell Tower, crumbled and 23 bridges were destroyed in Bohol. As the ports and
airports in both the islands had become dysfunctional, tourists had had to cancel their
bookings. Bohol is 600 km south of Manila, the Capital of the Philippines.
Ferry and airline services have now resumed, and the air force is flying relief materials to these
islands. Search and rescue operations are still going on. Fortunately, the deadly quake occurred on a holiday.
Bohol is well known all over the world as an attractive tourist destination.
There are over a hundred caves and springs in between the hills of Bohol province. Its
mountainous interior is home to rare flora and fauna. The central and northern lowlands are
fertile for farming. The Chocolate Hills there has over a thousand small maund shaped hills
covered by greens which turns brown like cholocate during dry season and this phenomenon
has bestowed the hills the chocolate name. It has been declared as a national geological
monument to attract tourists. Several resorts have come up there recently.
The Tourism Authority sells the destination with a description on plaque that the Chocolate
Hills marvel was born out of an eruption of coral deopsits rising from the seas in a massive
geological shift. Selling along are various other romantic legends reasoning out how the maunds
were formed and how they went brown. A short boat ride from there is Cebu destination.
Cebu city in Cebu island is the capital of Cebu province. It is located 500 km south of Manila,
with a Spanish past to its history. And it is the oldest city and centre of trade. It has an airport
facilitating tourist arrivals. Diving and boating are common activities for tourists. It is a narrow
stretch of land lying north-south, in width of 200 km. It has some historical spots. With an
international port, indusatries are also flourishing there. The climate is warm, 23 to 33 deg c.
Leaving a dry March to May, rainfall is evenly distributed. Coral atolls and fishing activities
generate tourist interest.
