On the morning of Oct. 15, 2013 at 8:12:31 PST, I experienced the strongest earthquake of my life. I was roused from sleep by strong tremors that shook our building and objects that started spilling out of my bedroom cabinets.
It was a holiday. The country was observing the Muslim celebration of Eid-al-Adha. And that was a blessing because the children were all at home. I shudder to think about what tragedy might have occurred had all the children been at school.
The North Bohol Fault was identified to have caused the 7.2-magnitude earthquake of tectonic origin.
Earthquakes can be of tectonic or volcanic origin. Those produced by the sudden movement along faults and plate boundaries are called tectonic while those induced by rising lava or magma beneath active volcanoes, volcanic.
The epicenter was plotted six kilometers S24W of Sagbayan, Bohol, at a shallow depth of 12 kilometers.
Earthquakes with shallow depths are dangerous because their energy has less distance to travel to reach buildings and people, thus, they produce stronger shaking. Since the strength of shaking diminishes with increasing distance from its source, deeper earthquakes are less destructive and deadly.
The 2013 earthquake traumatized me and my sisters so much that after the earthquake, we slept on our living room couches for two weeks for ease of evacuation.
Twelve years later, on the evening of Sept. 30, 2025 at 9:59:43 PST when most people were asleep but my family was wide awake and fortunately all in the same space, another deadly earthquake struck.
The magnitude 6.9 earthquake was caused by the Bogo Bay Fault. Its epicenter was plotted 19 kilometers northeast offshore of Bogo City which is about 98 kilometers from Cebu City. It had a depth of only five kilometers.
I was in front of my computer when I felt my chair shoved. As the building viciously shook and objects around me started to fall, I yelled, “earthquake.”
My niece ran down with lightning speed to the next level to rescue three fur babies and a beloved turtle. Within seconds, we lost power. We staggered down four flights of steps, carrying Louis, Oscar and Calvin, the beloved fur members of our family and in a basin of water, Picasso, a 12-inch long red-eared slider who’s been with us for a quarter of a century.
I’ve been asked how this 2025 earthquake compares to the one in 2013.
In 2013, it happened during daylight so while it was just as scary, it was easier to evacuate. In 2025, it happened in the evening. With the power out, it seemed more terrifying. It was harder to navigate in the dark and to quickly move out of the building to safety.
While both produced violent shaking, this one seemed to produce stronger shaking but didn’t seem to last as long as the one in 2013. I also felt stronger and more frequent aftershocks in 2013.
Both earthquakes were tectonic in origin. Both had shallow focal depths. Both were caused by previously unnamed faults, the North Bohol Fault and the Bogo Bay Fault, respectively.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) recorded 4,465 aftershocks for which 122 were felt in a span of two and half months after the earthquake of 2013. As of Oct. 3, 2025, 4 p.m., barely three days after the earthquake, Phivolcs has recorded 4,378 aftershocks of which 21 were felt.
The 2013 earthquake left 222 dead, 976 injured and eight missing. It caused P2.25 billion in damage. The 2025 earthquake has left 68 dead, 559 injured and has caused P3 billion in damage.
Both were terrifying and traumatic as well as destructive and deadly for one home destroyed as one life lost is one too many.