Pray for the Philippines!

Yes. Obviously there has been a lot of structural damage.

Might be a good idea to pray outdoors

:shock: But there's no more doors to go in to! :lovey: they have no choice! have to do prayers outdoors.

Did you notice where the prayers were being conducted on the Saudi Airlines flights?

If I have a chance I`ll take a pic or two from the same angle so lets see..Its only 10 mins from our place.
If its original structure there will be absolutely no rebar!
Pure coral lime stone..(Anapog)

If its solid limestone there wouldnt be a call for rebar. Gravity is a key ingredient along with some kind of mortar.

The problem with limestone buildings is the suceptibility to acid rain. An old limestone building that has been exposed to it will have been weathered and weakened over centuries.

The old Spanish buildings here in Bohol are not made from solid blocks of lime stone.. Dont think of them as Egyptian pyramids because they bare no resemblance..
They are built from small and large boulders and finished with small stones with a mortar of lime cement.
In a way they are a bit like a sand castle.. Stamp you foot too hard and down they go!
I dont pay very much credence to your acid rain theory..Sorry!

Not theory. Well established fact. But you can believe what you lke. Limestone reacts with and dissolves in acid. Try it. There is acid in rain albeit weak. Some rainfall is more acid than others.

Acid within rain is responsible for the creation of all your surface and near surface limestone features in Bohol including the Chocolate Hills, the caves, the ravines and sinkholes etc.

Take a close look at some of the features in the local churches. They are worn. By what? Local rain. This happens worldwide, not just in Bohol.

The buildings in the photos are distinctly of block form on the exterior.

Additionally, if there is heavy industry nearby or even upwind on other islands then the effluent chucked into the sky will exacerbate the effect.

Commonly rainfall will have a pH of 5.6 and hence is slightly acidic. Though it varies. Acid rain will be lower and more acidic.

Doesn't ring true.. If you ever get boots on the ground and see these buildings close up instead of looking at pictures on Google,perhaps your "conclusions" may change..The only real effect of rain that I have noticed UP CLOSE is observing pretty clearly how Lime discolours over the years due to alkaline solutions from rain on limestone..
The reason these things fell down is because they were shaken like they had never been shaken before..
And thats that!

The tendency of churches, but not other buildings, to fall down during the recent earthquake is of course God's Judgement on the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines, for:

1. Getting involved in politics, such as posting tarpaulins on churches during elections
2. "Team Tatay" - tolerating sexual misconduct by Priests
3. Opposing necessary social legislation, notably the RH Law
4. Consorting with rich, powerful and corrupt people.

and not caring for the poor, the weak and the sick, which, as the Pope has recently reminded us all, is what Jesus actually wants them to do.

(No, I don't actually believe that, but it is interesting, isn't it!)

I would take your word for it but seemingly, with your boots on the ground, you assured me that Bohol was free from natural disasters.

The only way that the degradation of the limestone would not be solely by the acidity in rain would be:

1] If the blocks of limestone are not blocks but simply facia stones - though why would they go to that trouble several hundred years ago. Easier to cut out a limestone block and lay it on top. Or....

2] That the limestone used was in the first place was / is naturally weak, which indeed it could be.

Thats it. You can deny till the cows come home that rainfall doesnt dissolve limestone but it is well established that it does. You can ignore that fact if you wish.

BTW it isnt alkaline, its acid, boots or no boots on the ground. And a good photograph can convey a lot of info.

Are you trying to tell me that the corners and features of the churches are as pristine and sharp as they were several hundred years ago when they were first created?

First of all.. Please link to a post I made that suggested that Bohol was not susceptible to natural disasters!! Can you?
Secondly.. You obviously have no understanding of just how difficult it would be here in Bohol to produce ONE solid lime block!! You posted a picture of a degraded Chocolate hill due to a 7.2 earthquake..Observe what happened to that hill..It crumbled and fell.
If you had the experience of getting your hands in the ground here and digging large holes into the local coral stone,perhaps I would have more respect for your opinion.
In Camiguin,which is an island south of here the rock is completely different.. Its a perfectly round smooth stone...As smooth and as hard as polished granite..So why didn't the Spanish utilise such rock to build their churches there?
Why did they go through the trouble and expense to mine and transport coral stone all the way from Bohol for their religious structures?
I`ll await your best guess... Use Google all you like BTW.
BTW ...its alkaline that discolours limestone.

Evidence of the damaging effect of acid deposition can be seen throughout the world. For example, world famous structures as the Taj Mahal, Cologne Cathedral, Notre Dame, the Colosseum and Westminster Abbey have all been affected. But not in Bohol apparently. like the natural disasters, they take a body swerve around Bohol.... Or so you told me.