OFFBEAT MAIL

Big waves  put this ship in the midst of ruins. ABS-BCN anchor and radio commentator Korina Sanchez  had reacted negatively to the reports  of CNN reporter Anderson Cooper who witnessed the extensive devastation on the ground while covering and interviewing victims of the recent super typhoon that flattened out most parts of Easter Visayas as it made a landfall in Guian, Eastern Samar, Philippines,  six days ago. In a report at the www.inquirer.net, it described Sanchez, the wife of the current Philippines Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas, as saying: "This Anderson Cooper, he said there is no government presence in Tacloban City. It seems he doesn't know what he is saying." The Inquirer reported that Cooper was actually covering what's happening on the grounds in Tacloban City where he talked to several victims of the super typhoon "Yolanda" as it flattened almost everything in its way as it exited to the direction of Vietnam. And ...

It's nice to hear that many people were spared from the wraths of a big tremor that hit eastern Visayas and a portion of Mindanao in the Philippines. However, the vestiges of cracks along the roads and some buildings in Samar Island, were testament to nature's fury. Volcanologists claimed the earthquake, measuring about 7.2 in the richter scale, took place in the deepest part of the Pacific Ocean. Had it occurred onshore, there's no doubt that it could have destroyed more buildings and other infrastructures. At this writing, people are still feeling the quake's aftershocks, and they have expressed fear that a tsunami might come next. According to Wikipedia, the Philippines lies within the Pacific Ring of Fire, which causes the country to have frequent seismic and volcanic activity. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) said the earthquake was caused by movement on a previously undiscovered fault. Although this was already discovered...