EDITORIAL - Lessons from Chona Mae

Yesterday Cebu City netizens quietly remembered the tenth anniversary of one of the most infamous events in Cebu history; the tsunami or “Chona Mae” scare of February 6, 2012. It’s one of those moments that have become so legendary everyone who knows about it remembers where they were when it happened.

Following a magnitude 6.9 earthquake that rocked Cebu and Negros Oriental, there were rumors that a tsunami was headed for Cebu City.

In the first place the tsunami was unlikely; there are not enough waters in the seas around Cebu City to generate a tsunami. The only way for a tsunami to happen in such a small expanse of sea is if an asteroid falls there and causes it.

However, that knowledge was lost on many people in Cebu City who immediately panicked and ran, most likely with the horrors of the Japan 2011 tsunami still fresh in their minds.

And run people did. Businesses, schools, and offices closed. Streets became clogged by motorists rushing to get to safety. The sidewalks were filled with office workers, students, vendors, pedestrians, and other people who just wanted to get away from the coast. Everywhere you looked there was just sheer panic.

Indeed, there was a wave. But it was not a wave of water, rather a wave of panicked people. Some immediately headed to high ground like pedestrian overpasses, tall buildings, and other structures. Others ran long distances, ending up uptown after they finally stopped to look around them.

Then there was a second wave. This one of rumors and news that different areas of Cebu City were now inundated. One rumor had it Colon Street had been flooded. Another said that the waters had reached Lahug. How the wave got there while leaving the waterfront area high and dry later proved news about the tsunami was fake.

It was a miracle nobody got seriously hurt. Now that we have put the fear behind us we can almost say the event was hilarious; panicked people running for the hills, doing a half marathon until they finally regained their senses.

That aside, it shows how destructive false news and rumors can be, as well as believing in such news and rumors without first taking steps to verify if it is the truth or not.

Today we are still besieged by false news and rumors, mostly regarding how the vaccine against COVID-19 actually does more harm than good. How powerful corporations are actually using it as a form of population control. That anyone who takes the vaccine will be either dead --or become undead-- in a couple of years. Where these rumors came from, we can only guess.

Since it is also an election year, we know campaign strategists are more than willing to use false news and rumors to their advantage. They will say this candidate did this or said that, either to make someone look incredibly good or bad.

Ten years after the Chona Mae episode we should have learned our lesson to always check before believing news and rumors.