O nce again, this writer sends a reminder to the Philippine government to undertake earthquake-preparedness drills, inspect tall buildings for eventual seismic retrofitting and update emergency-contingency plans. It is only a question of when a massive tremor will hit major urban centers of the Philippine homeland. But as had happened during the Gloria Arroyo Administration, warnings from this journalist fell on deaf, if not also dumb, ears.

The reason for this new reminder to the Philippine government is that today, Oct. 25, 2010, a strong 7.5-magnitude earthquake hit the western coast of Indonesia's Sumatra Island, Indonesia. Indonesia and the Philippines are not only adjacent to each other but they both belong to the so-called “Pacific Rim of Fire,” an area where large numbers of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions periodically occur.

H ere are the hyperlinks to some of the articles that have been written about the need to prepare for such a massive quake that may turn some Philippine cities into clusters of calamity and devastation:

Series of Earthquakes on July 24 Validates Bobby Reyes’ Warning Posted Less-than Five Days Earlier

It Is Just a Question of WHEN a Big Quake Will Devastate Areas in the Philippines

RP Must Undertake Earthquake-Education and Retrofitting Programs In View of Recent Quake-caused Disasters

Gloria Arroyo Misses a Golden Opportunity to Create a World-class Legacy of Leadership in Disaster Relief by Operating Hospital Ships

It will not take rocket science for the Philippines to undertake earthquake-preparedness, building-inspection-and-retrofitting exercises and education of the Filipino people in the matter of organizing themselves into “emergency-ready” constituents. The Philippines has simply to copy what the Great State of California is doing.

Like emulating a massive drill held on October 21, 2010, at 10:21 a.m. (Pacific Standard Time), when millions of people practiced Drop, Cover and Hold On in the 2010 California ShakeOut! To learn more about the earthquake-preparedness drill, please click this hyperlink, www.shakeout.org

H ere again is the latest bulletin on today’s earthquake in Indonesia, as found in the AOL website:

Major 7.5-Magnitude Quake Hits Off Indonesia

Here are excerpts from the said AOL news article:

JAKARTA, Indonesia (Oct. 25) -- A strong earthquake hit late Monday off the western coast of Indonesia's Sumatra island, but no damage or casualties were immediately reported.

The 7.5-magnitude temblor struck at a depth of 20 miles (30 kilometers) on a small island off Sumatra, the U.S. Geological Survey said. A massive earthquake and tsunami struck off the same island in 2004.

A tsunami watch advised that waves were possible within a few hundred miles (kilometers) of the epicenter. However, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said historical data suggest any wave it created would not be destructive.

In Jakarta, Indonesia's Meteorology and Geophysics Agency said the tremor that struck at 9:42 p.m. (1642 GMT) was centered about 78 kilometers (48 miles) southwest of the Pagai Selatan in Mentawai Island, with a depth of 10 kilometers (6 miles) . . . (Snipped) # # #