What Happened on Tuesday?

On Tuesday, October 15, 2013 at around eight o'clock in the morning, Cebu City and the rest of the island shook with a 7.2 magnitude earthquake. In all my life living in the city, that was by far the strongest earthquake we had experienced. The second strongest earthquake was sometime in the 90s but it only had a 6.something magnitude. 

At first, I thought it was only a bulldozer digging in a construction site right next to our house. Most of the time, the ground shakes because of the on-going project so we thought it was like any normal day. Josh told me to stay in the middle of our room while he check it out. All of a sudden, I could feel the floor trembling angrily and hear the walls cracking and heavy metals clanging loudly. When hubs saw that the construction workers were running out of the building like it was a zombie apocalypse, that's when he told me to ran outside. I only had a  moment to grab Josh a shirt and ran outside in my sleepwear. Good thing I was wearing shorts and a shirt and not my sheer nightgown. 

The earthquake lasted for almost a minute, but the aftershocks were worse. It would shake all of a sudden you thought it was another earthquake. It was really scary. Good thing it was a national holiday so there was no work and school. Otherwise, I think the damage and casualties could've been worse. it was reported that there was around 800 aftershocks. Some of which I could feel. Up until last night, I can still feel the ground shake. 

The earthquake was so strong even the statue of the Angel Moroni in our LDS temple turned 90 degrees to its right. Also, a lot of members evacuated to the chapel for fear that there might another earthquake with a magnitude that instense. There were even some non-LDS families who sought protection in the entrance of the temple site's entrance because they were scared to go back to their houses. 

During the earthquake, the power lines and cellular networks. A lot of people outside were frantic trying to call people.  Good thing we had a landline phone so we were able to check up on my mom and brother and his family to know if they're okay. It was several minutes before we could contact a friend to see if she and her family are okay. However, the network was so bad we had to make several tries before we could send text messages. 

The earthquake's origin was in Bohol. If you've seen the news already, a lot of the centuries-old churches were badly damaged. Even one of the chocolate hills got destroyed. The bell tower in the Sto. Niño church here in Cebu collapsed. It was that strong. 

I just kept praying silently that the worst is over. When we checked the news, it was so sad to find patients being evacuated from hospitals. There were even hundreds of patients that were displaced because the hospital they were admitted is no longer safe and had to be demolished. There some schools that were damaged I don't think it's safe for the students to resume classes. Also, I also read the news that there was a sinkhole in Lapu-Lapu City. 

When I reported back for work on Thursday, I saw some cracks on our floor especially the loo. Good thing the engineer assured the tenants that most of the damage were cosmetics. The foundation is still safe. That somehow gave me the confidence that we'll be okay even though I felt our building shake occasionally

***

To all our friends and family who are worried, I just want you to know guys that we're okay. Despite what happened, we're still grateful that Heavenly Father protected us. That we're alive. That it happened in the morning where most people are already awake. If it happened at night or in the wee hours of the morning, I think things could've been worse. 

Our hearts go out to all the victims of the earthquake, particularly Bohol and most especially to the families who lost loved ones and friends during the calamity. And to all of us, we pray that we'll be able to move on and get back on our feet. Us, Filipinos, are very resilient so I'm pretty sure that we're going to be okay. I just hope that  the government will not turn a blind eye use everything in their power to help and provide assistance as well as improve infrastructures (like schools and hospitals) to minimize damages.

Here are some pictures of the damages caused by the earthquake in our house:

So anyway, that's so far the only problem we're facing right now because of the earthquake. That big crack was due the construction going on (which the company said will fix it) but it got worse on Tuesday.

So yeah, that's what happened on Tuesday.

Stay Safe everyone!