Youth

CEBU, Philippines - On October 15, 2013,  Bohol and Cebu experienced the deadliest earthquake in the Philippines in 23 years with a magnitude at the epicenter at 7.2.  As a result ,hundreds of lives were lost, thousands injured, and more than 55 thousand structures were damaged or destroyed.

 The nerve-wrenching earthquake struck as the country was observing the Muslim holiday of Eid-al-Adha. Luckily the public holiday had closed schools, some businesses and offices which helped reduce the number of casualties.   

It was about 8 in the morning that the Boholanos and Cebuanos felt the first quivering of the earthquake. The temblor came lightly with a gentle vibration of the house, but a very few seconds of this and it began to come in sharp jolts which grew more violent. Frantic with fear, people rushed from the houses and into their gardens and open spaces. It was accompanied by a low rumbling noise unlike anything Cebuanos heard before and its duration was about 36 seconds, though frankly it felt like an eternity.  Lighter aftershocks, as of this writing 2,700 recorded, 74 of which were felt   continued at intervals throughout the following days.

A fortnight has passed since the horrifying experience which has tested ones faith and sanity. But people are slowly rebuilding their lives. I have come to understand and accept that such a traumatic experience has a stressful impact sufficient to overwhelm our usual coping strategies. It is in moments like this when I remember my mom's favorite Spanish idiom, No Hay Mal Que Por Bien No Venga  which translated  means Every Cloud has a Silver Lining. It is in the way we look at the situation - the whole glass half full or half empty notion, because that is one factor we can always control, our attitude towards a sad and  unfortunate incident.

A few of my friends graciously shared their thoughts and what they have learned from such a dramatic and tragic experience.

Celeste See – Businesswoman

When you get jolted out of bed on a holiday morning by a 7.2 magnitude earthquake, the first thing on your mind would be to find a way to live. We scurried down from the house and had nothing with us but our clothes. We thank God that we are very much alive, and nothing major happened to us. However, that got me thinking. Events such as these make us realize what's important. The world stops. Everything becomes still. Our priorities which have gone haywire, suddenly fall in order and take their proper place. The cares of this world fade away, then the non-negotiables of life surface – our relationship with God, our life as a whole and the people who mean so much to us. It is through these high impact incidents that we realize that at the end of the day, at the end of our lives, the things that really matter most are those which cannot be measured nor bought by anything in this world.

Joy Martinez Onozawa – Architect, Certified Green Design Professional

The earthquake   woke us up to many realizations about our own mortality.   This made me vow all the more to live life with full meaning, as I realize that indeed our life is a gift from God. As an environmentalist and architect, the earthquake validated and strengthened our commitment to integrate ecological connections in our designs. We are moving forward at full speed, as this is the right thing to do. Earthquakes are a natural occurrence and the only way to fight this would be through natural means. The earthquake comes with a new inspiration to do much, much better so that we can produce truly livable  homes and buildings.

Bingen Mendezona - Security Executive

When it comes to earthquakes, I used to always refer to my experience to the Loma Prieta earthquake of 1989 in San Francisco. That was the strongest quake I had experienced at 6.9, till this recent one at 7.2 magnitude! Considering the damage we suffered here in Cebu, we actually survived pretty well. As for Bohol, I'm pretty sure what we see on television doesn't really give the full depth of the experience. I was already in the public safety industry when that happened in SF and now I am in a similar field in security, thus having to go through the experience from the same perspective.

I still consider us very lucky here in Cebu that we didn't get to experience a greater emergency, because our Emergency Response stance is quite poor and incapable of a quick and coordinated response.  As a gauge of its effectiveness, It took several hours for us to get any situational report from any source.  The city could not give any advice or status reports due to the poor or lack of Mass Notification System (MNS) capability or preparation. There is no one integrated, centralized point of contact, until they organize an incident command, which no one really knows how to contact or locate.  This is the major missing link, the understanding and ability to put together a standing, readily identifiable point of contact for emergency services.  Like I always advise at work, we really don't want to keep talking and practicing Crisis Management, we want to practice Incident Response and Management or in the worst case scenario how to  handle an emergency, but avoid a crisis. Once you're in a crisis, it simply means you mishandled the first minutes of an incident or an emergency.

The other thing that we need to start considering are the effects of PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorders) from our people.  Even I felt the severe stress and worsening of its effects as the aftershocks kept coming at such high intensity.  The anxiety it must have caused to people who had to go to work in those office buildings and the feeling of not being able to get away from it, the feeling of not knowing your faith.  These long term stress will eventually cause what the military call 'combat fatigue' where some get violent, we will start experiencing absenteeism, shortened tempers and other psychological changes that will affect work, life at home...PTSD. A more serious problem for security and human resource people, recognizing these symptoms and being able to intercept them and properly handle these events. As always, keep  your head on a swivel, stay sharp and safe.

Alexis Yap – Restaurateur

The recent earthquake has made me realize how much I really value my loved ones and my own life. I ran to my parents' room and my sister's  before going out of the house just to make sure they are brought out to safety. I took nothing else with me which made me realize that material things are not as important to me as I thought they would be. I have learned the value of living each day like it was my last. And I am touched and reassured that the human race is not hopeless, seeing the unconditional generosity of the many people who are helping the victims of this terrible calamity.

Lyndon Angan – Travel TV Producer/Outdoor Traveler

When the ground was shaking, the lesson I learned was go with the swaying brought about by the shaking. Not knowing what to do, utter surprise and fear gripped me but as soon as it settled down, I realized it made me a better person.  I liken the experience   to a grain of rice, the shaking breaks down the old ones and what remains are the best ones.

Melanie Ng – Civic leader

What happened was devastating, houses were lost and lives were threatened. But the harrowing experience has also brought us closer together as a people. I am tremendously overwhelmed by the compassion, generosity and resiliency of the Cebuanos and Boholanos. Everyone has been affected by this calamity and everyone has stepped forward to do everything we can in our own way to help rebuild Bohol and Cebu! Yes, we will rise again! Bangon, SugBohol! (FREEMAN)