Miguel Saderra Masó

“ The reader who is not familiar with this country may find it strange that in reporting earthquake damages so much emphasis appears to be laid on the harm done to churches and conventos. This is easily explained by the fact that these buildings were often the only structures within the meizoseismal area, and built nearly everywhere in the most substantial manner. ”

“ In describing the epicentral regions, the present distribution of the Archipelago into provinces has been used throughout the catalogue. This division is shown on the first of the two maps of the Philippines which accompany this catalogue (Plate I) . As to the designation "Benguet" occasionally occurring in the text where provinces are enumerated, but not found on the map, we beg to offer the excuse that the region thus named is exceedingly well known in the Philippines as it contains Baguio, the health resort of the Islands. ”

“ Moreover, in a country in which fires consume every year thousands of dwellings and where the terrible typhoons frequently destroy whole towns with heavy loss of lives, the damage done by earthquakes has rarely been so great as to impress those occurrences indelibly upon the memory. ”