CEBU, Philippines - Hundreds of people “ran for their lives” yesterday afternoon when word of a tsunami hitting some coastal areas and downtown Cebu City spread like wildfire after a strong earthquake jolted the island and nearby Negros.
People panicked and many others just followed suit when they heard the reason why others were running.
Many of the people reached the uptown area and traffic almost came to a standstill when harried motorists also tried to move to “safer ground.” Many even went as far as the mountain barangays in search for “safe refuge.”
Many claimed that a group of men on board motorcycles spread the word of a tsunami that led to the panic.
Several hoax text messages were also sent claiming that the water level at Colon Street was rising that caused further confusion.
It started in carbon?
PO1 Dennis Ornopia, desk officer of Carbon Police Station, told The FREEMAN the chaos reportedly started at their area.
He said market goers and shopkeepers alike were alarmed after the ground shook for 5 to 10 “terrifying” seconds.
After the shaking, the entire Carbon Public Market area partially became deserted after everyone ran to higher ground shouting that sea level was rising.
A team, headed by Carbon Police Station Chief Renero Agustin, immediately inspected the coastline, but they did not notice anything abnormal.
Since the first quake, Ornopia said that their station was flooded with calls inquiring about the sea level.
Thomas, 25, of Barangay Tejero, told The FREEMAN that he ran when he heard a man on board a motorcycle shouting that a tsunami was coming.
“Pagkahuman gyud sa linog, naa dayon milabay nga laki nag sige’g singgit og tsunami mao nga nahadlok ko ug mi-dagan nalang,” he said.
Anelita, a 78-year-old woman was having hard time breathing as she sat near The FREEMAN Newspaper building, pleading that she be allowed to go up to highest floor.
Anelita said that she was selling fish at the Pasil market when she heard people shouting that the water was rising.
She said that she saw the water rising, but not that much, however she just started running because people were already running away.
A young student sustained injuries on her feet because she ran barefoot as she took off her heeled shoes.
Many others were in a similar situation while there were those who got down the vehicles they were riding and ran back to the higher areas.
Wide spread traffic
The panic also resulted to widespread traffic congestion.
“Traffic was all over,” said Erwin Restauro, Cebu City Traffic Operations Management base operator.
According to him, traffic jams throughout the city started immediately after the first quake at around noon.
Based on their monitoring reported by their traffic enforcement, reports of chaos started from the port area where residents were seen running towards the uptown area for higher ground.
“It was like a domino effect until nga miabot na siya (chaos) as far as Guadalupe,” he said.
CITOM did not receive reports of abandoned cars throughout the four-hour chaos at the streets.
They however, received reports of minor vehicular accidents which were immediately settled by the owners, Restauro said.
Four people were also brought to the Cebu City Medical Center for minor contusions and scratches after they stumbled while running in panic.
Tsunami alert
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology raised a level 2 tsunami alert, but explained that there was no reason for people to panic and evacuate as only minor sea level changes were to be expected.
Phivolcs reminded the people though, especially those living near coastal areas, to be cautious.
Robinson Jorgio, Seismic Observer of Philvolcs-Mactan told The FREEMAN that they raised the tsunami alert after their initial findings that the epicenter of the earthquake was in the sea.
“Sa sinugdan nakita nato nga diha dagat gikan ang epicenter mao nga mihatag dayon kita og advisory aron makabantay ang atong mga kaigsoonan ilabi na gayud daplin sa baybayon,” (At the start we saw that the epicenter was at the sea, which is why we gave out an advisory so the people living in the coastal area can be warned) said Jorgio.
The alert was lifted two hours later.
Classes and work suspended
Students in most of the schools in Cebu were sent home after the quake was felt. Government and private offices also sent their employees home after lunch.
In the downtown area, many establishments closed shop early and Colon St. became a virtual ghost town early evening.
While many went home, there were also those who went to the Basilica del Santo Niño.
Moving to higher ground
Thousands of residents of the city moved to higher ground at the height of the panic.
Guadalupe Captain Michael Gacasan said it was hard to control the people who were panicking and running for their lives.
“Even most of our employees left the barangay hall and went upland. People were not even able to bring anything,” Gacasan said.
Minutes later when they confirmed that the reports of sea water level rise were just a hoax, they started informing the people of the real situation.
Some residents in barangays Mambaling, Punta Princesa and other South District barangays also moved to higher ground.
Public transportation was also crippled for hours because public utility jeepneys chose to cut their route and went home.
Cracks?
The Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council received reports of cracks in various buildings in Cebu City.
A private school reported large visible cracks in the upper floors of the school building after the quake.
Cracks were also reported in Apas Elementary School in barangay Apas, Toong Elementary School and Toong barangay hall in barangay Toong and Buhisan barangay hall in barangay Buhisan.
The city hall was also immediately vacated after the quake and employees were prevented from going back until the Office of the Building Official declares the building safe.
While OBO was inspecting the Executive and Legislative Buildings, the city government suspended yesterday’s work so employees can go home to their families.
Initial inspection conducted by the Building Maintenance Section declared no damage in the two buildings, only some stuff of employees that fell during the quake.
Mayor Michael Rama ordered the Department of Engineering and Public Works and the Local School Board to inspect all school buildings especially those in the mountain barangays that were earlier reported as unsafe.
Situation in the Southern towns
Many residents of the coastal areas in southern Cebu left their homes after the earthquake.
In Alegria, there were reports of landslide in the upland barangays of Madridejos and Valencia.
Residents of four coastal barangays which includes Madridejos, Poblacion, Sta. Filomena and Legaspi were also told to temporarily leave their houses for their safety.
In Barili town more than 100 families evacuated to an elevated portion of their barangays.
Among the affected barangays were Japitan, Hilasgasan, San Rafael, and Candugay.
In Argao, Insp. Alejandro Batobalonos, Argao police chief, said as of 4:47 p.m. yesterday, they still felt the aftershocks.
In Moalboal, Insp. Rogelio Amoroso, town’s police chief, told The FREEMAN he ordered all 30 beaches and resorts closed. — with Jessica Ann R. Pareja, Ria Mae Booc, Rene Borromeo, and Jose P. Sollano/NLQ