Malilong: Lessons from the earthquake

Thursday, February 9, 2012

REMEMBER “rumor-mongering”? Basically, it means spreading false report or information and it was punishable under a presidential decree, with a stiff jail term. This was during the martial law years.

What the motorcycle-riding tandem did after the earthquake last Monday was worse than rumor-mongering. Announcing that a tsunami was approaching at a time when people’s nerves were still raw because of the earthquake was like shouting “fire” inside a packed movie house. If it was not malicious, it was, at the very least, criminally reckless.

In any case, they should be charged in court, convicted and locked up in jail. That is, if the police can find them. If they can’t be found, I am reasonably certain that the same God who allowed the earthquake to happen will take care of punishing them. If I may suggest to Him, making them swallow a sandwich with a Gillette blade inside may be appropriate under the circumstances.

It is easy to say, on hindsight, that the people should have stayed calm and not believed everything that they heard. The truth, however, is that there are situations when the instinct of self-preservation simply takes over and asking questions becomes the least of your priorities.

I experienced that during the last earthquake. I was holding the door when everything around me started to shake. At the time that I opened it, I didn’t have any intention of running out of the building. But as soon as I got out, I saw people running and heard women screaming in fear. Before I knew it, I was also running away.

It was different with the false tsunami alarm. I was inside the office. I had time to think. I already read in the Internet that the tsunami warning was intended for people leaving in southwest Cebu and in eastern Negros. I have also read enough about tsunamis to know that the first tsunami that a person gets to personally watch is going to be his last.

But those who ran away from Colon St. to as far as the Capitol didn’t have that luxury. Imagine yourself standing in a street corner, waiting for a ride. Then you see hundreds of people running towards your direction, all looking scared. You hear someone say that seawater has flooded Pasil. If you tell me that you will remain standing and verify if the information is correct, you are either foolishly brave or a liar.

When I heard about the commotion, I did go out to Escario St. to verify and saw people scurrying in all directions. The sight of fire trucks and other vehicles, including some motorcycles, all with their sirens at work, only served to heighten the tension.

From a distance, the sounds from the sirens sounded like eerie wailing, more like a hymn of death than an order to give way.

I understand that the firefighters were responding to an alarm in Labangon but what about the motorcycles? What emergency were they responding to? Or were they also among those who were heading to high ground? But I thought that wangwang, especially among civilians, is already a thing of the past.

When I went back to the office, Vice Mayor Joy Young was on radio, advising everyone that the reported tidal wave was a hoax. (I was told that Mayor Mike Rama also went on air to reassure the public.) Over at Camp Sergio Osmeña, a police official grabbed a bullhorn to tell the fleeing horde to calm down. They all helped put the situation under control.

There are so many lessons that can be learned from our recent experience with an earthquake. And since that was not going to be our last, we should take these lessons to heart to prepare us for the next one.

(frank.otherside@yahoo.com)