Anything Goes

Not everyone may have the chance to be in a place where an earthquake takes place. I have had a few ones myself but this strong … 6.9? Oh man, this has got to be the strongest for me. I did not experience this myself because luckily, I was out with my friends on the road on our way to have lunch.

I call it luck because if I did not go with them, I might have ended up experiencing that strong earthquake on the 14th floor of our office building where the cafeteria is. Imagine my surprise when my friend texted me about it. I rushed to call my wife to ask if she was okay and it took me quite awhile because by that time, almost everybody were using their cellphones to contact friends and love ones.

The horror came after that. People were mass panicking because of news that a tsunami was approaching the city. Before that I only learned that there was a tsunami alert level 2 issued near the city where the earthquake originated. But boy, because the government does not have a real time site on cases like this, tweets, text messages and any other kind of media involved had people relaying rumors about the tsunami that eventually led to some people in parts in the city scrambling for safety.

I was already pissed especially when I got home and after checking out the Philippines map because Dumaguete is just below Cebu and the city area is on the East side. No way will the tsunami hit the Eastern part since the point of origin is on the Western side.

That is just my take. However, those people who kept sending updates clearly just for the sake of whatever reason they had to send those really got me pissed. I never believed what they said. Not even one bit.

Clearly they just relayed those what they had heard. If only there was a way to pinpoint who started sending those bogus panic messages. It would have been nice to hand that person the death penalty for igniting a panic amongst people.

This is the same as saying the word bomb in the airport. Man, ignorance really can start panic. This was the first time in my life where I saw so many people outside walking to their intended destinations. I myself just walked going to my place because traffic was just so bad.

So far there have been numerous aftershocks that I have no idea will end. I just hope I will never get to experience this one like my wife did. I know the trauma I may have because of that. Even a weak earthquake can give me chills. What more a strong one?

(photo taken from the Iowa Government website)