I woke up briefly to a tremor this morning around 3:00am. It was just a short one, lasting about 3-4 seconds, enough to make me hear the ornaments on the wall rattle. I think the last time I remember waking up to a tremor like that was a few years ago and I was beginning to wonder what life would be like without them. This morning, it actually crossed my mind that this could be a warning, however small, to expect something much bigger, something akin to the Japan earthquake a week ago.
After seeing the pictures and videos, I knew that there would be no end to the blogs being posted about the incident, about the tragedy, about the scientific explanations behind the quake itself and the resulting changes in our planetary well being and, of course, about the stories. I had no plans of adding to the traffic… until we experienced our own little event this morning.
Normally, we would pass through the day without giving it another thought. Sometimes I would be the only one who felt it and I’d eventually write it off as a figment of my imagination. But today, my mom, who always wakes up at 3:00am, felt it too.
I looked up the known major fault lines in the Philippines (http://blogphilippines.com/2009/10/list-of-active-fault-lines-in-the-philippines.html) partly out of curiosity and partly because I wanted to know for sure which areas to avoid if we wanted to build a house. It turns out that I don’t have to worry about avoiding these places anymore, especially in Manila, because developers have built condominiums and skyscrapers on them already. All I have to do is say NO when they try to sell me a unit.
The most highly publicized fault is the Marikina Valley Fault, which passes through Montalban-San Mateo-Marikina-Pasig-Taguig-Muntinlupa-San Pedro-Binan-Carmona-Santa Rosa-Calamba-Tagaytay-Oriental Mindoro. Anong meron dito? Well, only Eastwood, Rockwell, Ortigas Center, Global City, Ayala Center, Alabang, Enchanted Kingdom and Taal Volcano.
I can’t imagine… no, not right. I can imagine what it will be like to be standing on the ground if an earthquake the strength of the one that hit Japan will hit the Philippines. What I can’t imagine is the ENORMITY of the damage and the helplessness that will quickly follow. Not to mention the number of lives that will be taken in case Manila is identified as the epicenter. Are we prepared or even preparing for it?
My brother has a house in Marikina… my niece studies at Poveda located in Pasig… my in-laws live in Bacoor, Cavite (two municipalities away from Tagaytay)… a lot of my college friends live in Calamba… a lot of my family’s in-laws live in Alabang and Global City…
I think it’s inevitable. We should just be ready. Emotionally. Mentally. Spiritually.
Life in the Bukids 