You always hope for something exciting everyday in the Philippines,
but many are uneventful for most people.
Yet to me, I have tried to see every day as a new page in a lifelong
chapter.
Yesterday I was under the weather. It had been coming on for two days, but
yesterday I truly felt its effects and spent the night shivering the first half
and sweating the second half. However,
by this morning, I was well enough to resume my daily activities.
I spent the morning performing insignificant little tasks at
the city hall, then got photo copies at the internet café and finally did the
thing I enjoyed the most which was sitting on a shaded bench along the
highway. Now many may find it quite
boring, but I remember my grandma would sit in her open garage with relatives
in the evenings and watch the traffic on the highway pass as they talked about
their happenings of the day. Well, maybe I didn’t have anyone to chat with, but
I did enjoy watching all the trucks, cars, bikes, trikes, buses, jeepneys, and
people pass by. Everyone seemed to have
an agenda, but my only priority was to sit back, relax, and observe. Let’s face it, I had the best job in the
World, and that was doing nothing.
I went home with some paperwork and since it was 11:45, I decided to walk to the Oasis Café for
lunch. I did that a few times each week as a mango shake and chicken curry cost
only $2.50. As I approached the
cemetery, the ground started shaking violently.
There was a group of wood/bamboo houses across the road and people
started pouring out of them. The ones on the street just froze and I had to
admit, it was a challenge standing still (actually had to move a couple of
times to maintain my balance). There
were gasps, a few shrieks, and a lot of frightened expressions on the faces of
those on the street. I was on the cemetery side of the road; I looked around to
make sure nothing could fall on me and I began to laugh. It was like being on an amusement ride or on
the ferry in rolling seas. The shock
wave seemed to come in waves, but back and forth and as I stood there, I could
literally see the earth move. It was just a terribly eerie feeling to watch
something move in such a way that, in your mind, should never ever be able to
do that. Some residents were afraid the ground would open up and swallow
them. As the 6.7 magnitude trembler
settled down, I saw the young as well as the old clutching their chests. Some sat down on available benches while
others leaned up against walls. The
area dogs were barking up a storm as I moved on down the street. I was sure
that some thought I was mad because of my laughter and excited attitude. Had I been inside my house or around things
that could have toppled on me, I would have reacted differently, but I was in
the open and because of that, it was exhilarating experience.
I visited with people (who were now standing or sitting
outside their homes) as I continued on my way toward the Café. Many asked if I
had earthquakes where I lived and I always replied that my part of the states was
pretty safe from those things. Since
they all had lived their lives with earthquakes here, I thought it must be hard
for them to envision there could be no earthquakes where I lived. A 4.8 aftershock occurred as I walked along
the highway, but I didn’t notice it as the rumbling from the traffic masked
that one. However, after ordering my
lunch, another large aftershock (5.6 magnitude) hit. There were five customers
and waitress in the eating area of this concrete, wood, and bamboo
structure. Even though I was the
furthest one inside the café, I was the second one outside. I never had a chance against the young
waitress who sprinted out the front opening and down the steps. The three female customers clutched their
chests as the street lights and café sign swung vigorously from the see-saw
movement of the earth. Whereas the
initial earthquake lasted for almost forty-five seconds, this aftershock shook
for only around thirty seconds. As soon
as it quit, I commented that the show was over and walked back to my seat. The
waitress followed me, but the other two couples stayed outside for quite
awhile.
I did not see any physical damage anywhere I passed, but on
my way home, there were a lot more people sitting or standing outside their
places and a new addition was chattering radios. Residents were huddled around squawk boxes as
it told of the conditions and damage. One person called the radio station and
said the San Carlos River
had been emptied and then another had said the water on Canlaon Volcano was
rapidly emptying off the mountain. Others had heard that Canla-on was erupting
and that the quakes center was by Iloilo
(pronounce elo – elo). The radio spoke
of a Tsunami watch until 3:00 p.m.
for the east coast of Negros and west coast of Cebu
islands. Still there were those who
worried about a giant tsunami wiping out the coastline and that there would be
another large earthquake at 3:00 p.m.
(ironically, there was a 3.8 magnitude tremor at 3:04
p.m.).
The true story of this earthquake was it did occur at 11:49 a.m. and was logged at 6.7 magnitude on
the Richter Scale and located less than 30 miles Southeast of me. That was
the strongest quake I had experienced so far in my life. The first aftershock
was at 12:03 p.m. (4.3 magnitude) with
the one that drove me outside the café at 12:20
p.m.(5.6 magnitude) Since
then there have been at least ten additional aftershocks ranging from 2.0 to 6.2
magnitudes. The last three large ones took me
back outside. The latest reports say that at least 43 people have perished through mud slides and collapsed buildings. Oh yes, the tsunami
warning was for one meter waves (thirty-nine inches) for the coastlines. If you want to see the location of the
earthquake, copy and paste the following coordinates in Google Maps. 9.964°N, 123.246°E
Prior to my arrival on Negros,
earthquakes had not been felt in years, but since my arrival, there have been
two large tremblers around this island paradise. In addition, they had no typhoons cross the
island since 1994, yet this summer we had one direct hit and one graze this
island which has made me to think that even though I love the island, perhaps
Mother Nature doesn’t feel the same way about me.
FOOTNOTE: As I
proofread this article, there continues to be aftershocks and now there are
residents (including those in my compound) who are taking their possessions and
evacuating into the mountains east of town.
I look at the data. The
aftershocks are lessening and the last tremor was over two hours ago. There are two volcanoes on this island, Canla-on
Volcano (to the north) and Magaso (to the south). Canla-on last showed activity in 2004,
however Magaso has not been active for the past 14,000 years. Still anything is
possible in the Philippines.
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