AT approximately 7:30 a.m. on Monday, June 8, a powerful magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck southern Mindanao just offshore of Sarangani province, causing destruction and panic across a wide area. The most badly affected places were in the vicinity of General Santos City, but quake-related damage was reported as far away as Butuan City and Davao City, with reports of the quake being felt by residents as far from the epicenter as Negros and Leyte. The earthquake also generated a tsunami of about one meter, which was recorded in several coastal locations stretching from Zamboanga City to Tandag City in Surigao del Sur.
As of early Tuesday morning, the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) reported a total of 31 people killed across the quake-affected region, about 120 injured, and 12 still missing. Those numbers are unfortunately expected to rise, and our thoughts and prayers are with those who were killed, injured, or otherwise had their lives upended in the tragedy.
Nevertheless, it seems to be the general consensus that it could have been much worse. The reason it was not is partly due to the lucky timing of the earthquake, but more so because of the rapid, effective reaction of government and relief agencies and the affected people themselves. Even so, the earthquake and its aftermath have raised a number of serious questions about the country’s preparedness for the next “big one.”
Heroes
At the very top of the list must be the schoolteachers of the affected areas. While the timing of the earthquake was lucky because it occurred before many business and commercial establishments had opened for the day, it was potentially catastrophic in that it struck just as the first day of classes for the new school year was beginning. Yet all reports so far are that despite considerable damage to many school facilities, and an understandable great deal of shock and fear, there were very few injuries among students, and those that have been reported were minor. The teachers instantly applied their training, and kept their charges safe, which was evident in the many videos shared online.
Likewise, the response of the government, both at the national and the local level, was swift and effective. The national government agencies concerned were on the scene within hours, and in the meantime, local governments had their own disaster response plans under way. Between 50,000 and 70,000 people were quickly evacuated from vulnerable coastal areas upon warnings of a tsunami, which resulted in almost no casualties from that part of the disaster. By midday, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) was already assessing damage to infrastructure and beginning emergency repairs. Similarly, the Department of Energy (DOE) was coordinating efforts between the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) and local electricity distributors and cooperatives to quickly restore power, which was accomplished for most of the affected areas by early afternoon.
And of course, credit must be given to agencies such as the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) and the Philippines Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO), which also quickly responded. As these organizations are so effective, particularly the PRC, they are sometimes taken for granted, but their expertise and readiness when disaster strikes are remarkable, and a real asset to the country.
Zeroes
Although virtually the entire government rallied to respond to the disaster in Mindanao, one notable exception was Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, who used what time afforded to him by media coverage on Monday to further complain that his pretense of being the legitimate Senate leader was not being respected. He offered no words of concern about the calamity, and in not doing so, further demonstrated that the concept of leadership is one that remains beyond his understanding.
Similarly, scorn must be heaped upon those netizens who used the disaster to spread fake news and misinformation. We tend to look at this as an inevitable and unfortunate side effect of social media, but it should be taken seriously. It has the potential to cause real harm to people who are already contending with the aftermath, and are seeking helpful information.
Finally, there are hard questions that need to be asked about the resilience of buildings and infrastructure. An earthquake of that magnitude is going to inevitably cause some damage, but some that was observed was alarming. One particularly worrisome example was the newly built Bucana Bridge in Davao City, which appeared to have been seriously damaged despite damage elsewhere in the city being comparatively minor. The review of the National Building Code called for earlier by Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon needs to be accelerated.
