Study: Teenage pregnancies prevalent in disaster-hit areas

The displacement of families during the onslaught of natural disasters often results in pregnancies not just among adult mothers, but also among teenage girls.

A study conducted by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) showed a significant increase in the number of teenage mothers in Eastern Visayas after the devastation of Super Typhoon Yolanda in 2013 and Typhoon Ruby in 2014.

Science Secretary Fortunato dela Peña on Tuesday said the result of the study calls for more attention to and protection of the welfare of teenagers, especially girls in times of disaster…

How to prepare for an earthquake and assemble a bugout bag

I lived in Southern California for 12 years, and in all that time, the extent of earthquake damage I incurred was a single bottle breaking after it fell off a shelf during a mild tremor.

According to experts from the United States Geological Survey, the fact that California has not experienced a major earthquake in some 25 years is statistically unlikely; in other words, the state is due for a serious shakeup. Overdue, in fact.

While the West Coast of America is indeed the region most prone to major seismic activity in the US, in fact, high-hazard earthquake zones exist in the interior West, the Midwest, the coastal region of South Carolina, and in pockets of Upstate New York and New England. All in all, the Red Cross reports that 45 states and territories “are at moderate to very high risk of earthquakes.”…