Tsunami tales

When Tilly Smith, a 10-year-old British girl, told her mother with her distinctive British accent, "There’s going to be a tsunami, Mummy," she predicted something significant. Tilly made a practical application of what a geography teacher taught her about earthquakes and what they can do and how they can cause tsunamis. This is a perfect example of the importance of a solid grounding in science education. Now you can see what education is all about – preparing children to have a positive impact on the lives of people they encounter. In Tilly’s case, she saved hundreds of lives at Maikhao Beach in Phuket, one of the few places where no one was killed.

In China, it is folk knowledge that pigs and ducks are the first to sense earthquakes. A young Hong Kong couple, billeted in one of the Thai resorts, woke up noticing an unusual number of cockroaches crawling in their room.

The wife told her husband that she sensed something would go wrong. So they immediately left the room and warned other guests on their way to higher ground. Shortly before nine a.m. from the top floor of their hotel, they saw the first wave and the more destructive second wave hit shore. The mysterious "sixth sense" of animals and insects to impending catastrophes humbles us humans. Experts can only conjecture that animals and insects are more sensitive because they can sense vibrations on the ground and detect air pressure changes that could alert them way before humans. In the past, there have been various accounts of birds and animals scrambling for safety before earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur. This is probably what the Biblical story on Noah’s ark was based on.

The tragic consequences of our insensitivity to earth’s natural resources and ecosystems are now being seen and felt. But such interconnectivity has escaped man’s attention for the most part because Mother Nature has been generous and tolerant. It is only now that when man’s existence is threatened that he sees the need to be environmentally responsible. Mother Nature can rudely remind us with her destructive power that we are part of nature, not above it. Such a consciousness would be helpful to Filipinos to enable us to protect the environment and forestall the tragedies that happened in Quezon and in Aurora. In fact, these should have served as an early warning to us. Instead, the 20th Century Filipino has become the most reckless destroyer of our country’s forests, with an annual deforestation rate of 100,000 hectares a year in the 90s. The deforestation rate even went as high as 300,000 hectares per year in the 60s during the height of the logging industry

After all is said and done about the widespread destruction, it is only now that people are witnessing how a tsunami could wreak such havoc because of media and communications technology. As far as one can remember, nothing like this has ever been seen before. One of the biggest and deadliest tsunamis caused by an earthquake reportedly happened in June 1896.

Hundred-foot waves swept the east coast of Japan instantly killing 27,000 people. The Sanriku tsunami, which also affected Hawaii and California, was said to have pushed Japan to start researches about tsunamis.

Understandably, the world learned about the event belatedly only through drawings and illustrations. It is only now that we have an almost instantaneous sense of the magnitude, the tragedy, and the inspiration that have been evoked by the various tsunami tales.

Media and modern information technology played an important role in making the whole world almost instantly aware of the tragedy when it struck.

Footages of the devastating waves from amateur videos were broadcast all over the world, giving people a horrifyingly clear picture of the destruction. Video phones enabled reporters to give periodic updates on the extent of the damage and the rescue operations being undertaken by the authorities. The Internet provided a deluge of information and even became instrumental in reuniting people who were separated by smashing waves of destruction. Survivors used mobile phones to inform relatives that they were safe. Multimedia got people out of their inertia and apathy, prompting them not only to sympathize but to find ways to help their stricken neighbors.

Now, more than ever, the country has to develop a fail-safe early warning system. This is justified by our 36,289 kilometers of coastline, which is twice longer than that of the United States. Phivolcs assured the public that it has state-of-the-art seismographs to monitor earthquakes and tsunamis with help from Japan, which has donated a total of P1.1-B since 2000. Phivolcs gets help from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center based in Hawaii to monitor tsunamis originating from the Pacific Ocean but it only has a P25-M budget allocation for maintenance operations and a P1.5-M budget for research. Even if a tsunami may not hit us within the next 20 to 30 years, we have to be prepared.

This tragic extinction level event, of which I am sure will be featured in a National Geographic special or will be made into a movie, underscores the importance of preparedness. The world has been reminded that life is indeed short. At any given time, we can all lose our lives. If we are to believe in our faith, there is only one Being who can decide when and where we will die. In this sense, everyone is equal because no one can be spared from a catastrophe if it is meant to be. I am hoping that many in this country, especially our political leaders and the well-to-do, will realize that it is better to do good now before it is too late. As my father told us shortly before he died – always do good to your fellowmen because it will one day come back to you. One must continue to build his credit line with God because you will need it when it’s time to go.

* * *

E-mail: [email protected]