Headline of the Week "Panic grips city"

Panic grips city

Quake triggers Exodus

Text by Georgene Rhena P. Quilaton-Tambiga; Photos by Concerned Citizen

     Panic-stricken San Carlos City residents rushed to upland areas including Barangay Rizal, Palampas, and Punao after a 6.9 magnitude earthquake hit the city, the rest of Negros Island, Cebu and Panay at 11:49 in the morning of February 6, Monday.

Water in the plaza! Tsunami scare sends residents to Sitio Medina, Barangay Rizal. The traffic on this photo builds up on the Translink Highway.

     The deluge of people first came from the coastal areas that face the Tañon Strait. Areas like San Juan Baybay and Ylagan flooded Endrina Street on their way to the Translink Highway that led to the elevated area of Sitio Medina, Barangay Rizal.

     Based on the report from the San Carlos City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (SCCDRRMC), 100 families evacuated from Barangay I, 1,200 from Barangay II, 112 from Barangay IV, 40 from Barangay V, 50 from Barangay VI, 100 from Buluangan, seven from Rizal; while 3,000 and 400 individuals moved out from Guadalupe and Punao, respectively.

Truck-load. A truck of evacuees with their belongings rush to higher ground.

No evacuation warning

     City Mayor Gerardo Valmayor and Joe Recalix Alingasa, action officer of SCCDRRMC, said that there was no evacuation order. Valmayor,  who immediately inspected the coastal areas, emphasized that the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) only raised tsunami alert level 2 temporarily. The second of the three-stop tsunami alert entails no evacuation. The warning was lifted at around 2:30 PM.

  Man and faith. Amidst the chaos and panic, this man secures his most precious possession, a statue of the the Sto. Niño. As he reaches the Medina roadside, he waits for his fate.

"The catch-as-catch-can living"

The catch-as-catch-can living

By Ma. Jesusa F. Constantino

       It was five years ago, when I was still a high school junior that my father was ousted from the well-known company here in our City for an unfavorable reason, and I know it was true. Then, my father, who is a degree holder, resorted to a job, typically, not suitable for his educational background. Consequently, he was underemployed. Of course, if he did not do so, my mother, who is a teacher, would have carried all the responsibilities (i.e. expenses) of the family. Undeniably, raising a family with four children is a serious matter.

        This kind of situation is widespread. Job hunting is not a joke. It entails a lot of patience and determination. There's always a struggle to get the most rewarding of jobs. It's always a survival of the fittest. That's why it's very important for someone looking for a job to brace himself, physically, mentally and spiritually for the ultimate battle of brains, skills and accomplishments. The question is: how will one do it, if searching for a job here in the Philippines or in our locality is like fitting yourself forcedly in the eye of a needle?

        A better quality of life is the reason for searching for a job, indeed it is the ultimate objective of societies and nations. This has been the pursuit since the ancient time. 

        If we are to hark back, how I wish situations written in the book or seen in the movie can come to reality here in this country like the conditions in the fabulous Shangri-La of the Lost Horizon. It was like a paradise for people. They contributed their individual ideas, talents, skills, and labor to the community for its development. The needs of the people were justly supplied, and they were happy and contented. 

        At present, I can see that if people are great, then their country is also great. If the people are lazy and corrupt, then the country is weak and unstable. Truly it is because it has been observed that the peoples in the less developed countries do not have the right kind of education and training. This means that their knowledge and skills are not applicable to the needs of their economy. Therefore, they are not functional. 

Friendly Observer "City's first eathquake"

Friendly Observer
By Arthur Keefe

City's first earthquake

                Many say nothing much happens in San Carlos. Well, the first earthquake in living memory has given us all something to talk about. The lack of experience and knowledge contributed to widespread panic, especially as most people had seen pictures of the Japanese tsunami last year, and were fearful the same could happen here.

                In fact, with the protection of nearby islands, this is extremely unlikely, and a relatively small quake as we experienced just off the coast, will cause high waves, but no catastrophic wave as in Japan and in Chile the previous year.

                It may sound strange to call this one small, but the one I experienced in Chile in 2010 was not only much stronger at magnitude 8.8 on the Richter scale in Santiago, but the epicenter was 400 kms. farther south and recorded 9.0. It also lasted for four minutes, caused a tsunami which killed 600 on groups of islands and certainly terrified me in my fourth floor apartment!

Who’s to blame?

                This is not to diminish in any way the sorrow we all feel for those living farther south in Negros who have lost loved ones and homes. However, even there we have to ask yet again why people are allowed to build their homes on land which is clearly unstable and at risk of disaster. I hope that sorrow can turn to constructive anger at the failure of local government yet again. An earthquake where no fault line is known cannot be predicted, but other factors, such as prolonged rain, can have the same effect, as we see so often.

                Of course, it is not the better off, but the poor who always suffer.

This woman drags all her belongings and the goods she sells along the Translink Highway. The 'tsunami scare' triggered her panic Exodus.

Soldier's Pen "Quakes and waves"

Soldier's Pen
By BGen. Alexander Cabales (Ret.)

Quakes and waves

                
               One of the major natural calamities that hit the country last year was Typhoon Sendong which severely punished Iligan and Cagayan de Oro Cities on December 16, 2011. It brought about 10 hours of heavy rains that caused flash floods in an area that rarely experiences tropical cyclones.

                Sendong tells us that natural catastrophes can happen anytime at any place even in the most unlikely ones.  Historical statistics can no longer be a basis for predicting a natural occurrence in the future. The Sendong experience was a realization for most local government executives.  Everyone now wants to equip their respective localities to cope with disaster.   It was only unfortunate that the next calamity happened too fast, too soon.

                On February 6 at 11:49 AM, another disaster struck.  This time it was a 6.9 intensity earthquake that ravaged the islands of Cebu, Negros and Panay.   The central western side of Negros Island was the worst hit. The quake's epicenter being very near the town of Tayasan, Negros Oriental,  some 70 - 80 kilometers south of San Carlos City.  An earthquake of such a magnitude was never experienced by anyone in his lifetime in this part of our country.  So, except for one or two schools that conducted earthquake drills for their students, everyone practically didn't know what to do.  There was panic everywhere that affected everyone - the poor and rich alike; the educated and the ordinary folks; and the old and the young.  Even government agencies and offices were caught with pants down.

                Despite the strong quake and the several but milder aftershocks, San Carlos only sustained minor damages.  Its worst effects, though, were the continuing paranoia of the people for the subsequent tremors and the possibility of a tsunami that may have been triggered by the quake.   'Learning' from the experiences of Japan and Indonesia on March 11, 2011 and December 26, 2004, respectively, when tsunamis immediately followed an earthquake, the people started leaving their houses in haste to seek the safety of higher grounds. 

                Phivolcs then issued Tsunami Alert Level 2 about an hour after the quake only to cancel it in about 30 minutes later.  Despite the cancellation and the announcements by the LGU that it was already safe, the people still refused to go back to their homes.  There was disarray and the people were as confused as the Phivolcs personnel were.

Pikpik sa Abaga "Walang iwanan unta"

Pikpik sa Abaga
Ni Henry Sandoval

Walang iwanan unta

                Dili tanan nga ginikanan ang may prebilihiyo nga maka eksperyensa nga adunay anak nga player sa usa sa mga eskwelahan dinhi sa San Carlos. Bisan unsa nga dula nga mahiapil ang imong anak dili nimo masukod sa imong kaugalingon nga sa higayun makita nimo ang imong anak nga makig duwa sa uban nga mga players.

                Akong anak gikan sa Grade 3 diha sa Tandang Sora Elementary School hangtud na lang sa iyahang college wala ko moundang pag-support sa duwa nga iyahang giapilan. Mahinumduman nako nga sa dihang ang Colegio de Sto. Tomas-Recoletos ang nahimong representative ngadto sa Regional Games akong nakita ang kahinam sa mga players nga makig lantogi sa duwa nga Football sa ilahang mga kontra didto sa Iloilo.

                Tungod lagi kay dala na nila ang ngalan sa Probinsya sa Negros Occidental dili malikayan nga mo-pick up kini sila ug pipila ka players sa Bacolod. Apan bisan pa sa pag-pick up ug pipila ka player sa Bacolod solid gihapon sila nga team nga miadto sa Regional Competition.  'Win or Lose,' matud pa nila, basta magkasama 'ayos lang.'

                Ang atong under-12 sa elementary nahimong madaugon sa duwa nga Football gikan sa Area I Meet ug sa Provincial Meet. Ang bonding aning mga bataa hilabihan na kakusog ug aduna na ni silay komon nga ambition nga magmadaugon sa pagduwa ngadto sa Rehiyon. Apan lagi basta adto na sa Regional Meet ang Probinsya sa Negros Occidental na ang dad-on nga bansagon ug sa sama nga mga pamaagi mokuha ug import nga players sa Bacolod na usab.

                Apan matud pa sa usa ka ginikanan nga mipautwas sa iyahang kahiubos sa nahitabo sa iyahang anak ngadto sa nagdala sa Team Under-12 gitangtang ang iyahang usang anak kay lagi may ipasulod nga lain nga player nga gi-pick up sa Bacolod.

Bantay Banat "Linug ug uban pa"

Bantay Banat
By Rics Cañisarez

Linug ug uban pa

            Pebrero 6 nabatyagan sa mga taga San Carlos ang 6.9 magnitude nga linog. Ingon man usab sa ubang lugar sama sa Dumaguete, Tayasan, Guihulngan ug sa tibuok Negros ug Cebu. Sa San Carlos pipila ka mga building ang naapektuhan kay ang mga kristal nga bintana nangapusgay. Didto usab sa Barangay Guadalupe, sigon sa report, siyam ka panimalay ang nangahagsa gumikan sa kakusog sa linog.

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                Mga pila ka minutos naukay ang katawhan, mga nanimuyo duol sa dagat dala ang pamilya lakip na ang kinabag-ang molupyo sa dakbayan nanghimos padulong sa mga lugar nga layo isip pagpangandam kon mahitabo ang gikabalak-ang tsunami.

                'Tsunami scare' ang nakapaukay sa katawhan sa syudad. Mga ginikanan gisiguro ang ilang mga pamilya.

                Kinsa man ang dili mabalaka nga human kuno sa kusog nga linog dunay tidal wave kon tsunami nga moigo dinhi sa dakbayan? Ingon usab niini ang nahitabo sa uban nga mga lugar sama sa Cebu ug Negros Oriental ug dinhi sa Negros Occidental.

                After all it was just a tsunami scare! Pagka 6:15 sa gabie, nabatyagan na usab ang linog hinuon (salamat sa Kahitas-an) hinay ra kining gitawag ug aftershock.

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                Daku ang akong pasalamat para sa katawhan sa San Carlos sa atong mga public officials sa pagpanguna ni Mayor Ginggo Valmayor ug sa mga sakop sa San Carlos City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council nga diha-diha nangandam gyud sa mga sakyanan ug sa mga kinahanglanon sa katawhan kon simbako man gyud nga moigo ang wala paabutang katalagman.

                Ang nahitabo niadtong Pebrero 6, maoy timailhan nga dili gyud nato hikalimtan ang hugot  nga pag-ampo sa Kahitas-an aron malikay kita sa kadaut.

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                Mo-ingon mo nga ang indigent fund walay gipili, mapa pro-administration o oposisyon man. Ang taga Barangay Refugio, Calatrava sigon sa kang Barangay Captain Carlito Porsuelo dili gyud maka-avail sa indigent fund tungod kay sila taga-oposisyon.

                Gani nangayo sya ug tabang sa atong bise-gobernador ug wala magmakuli mihatag ug sakyanan nga gamiton nga himuon nga ambulansya kon may pasyente nga idul-ong didto sa Provincial Hospital.                       

                Ang problema sa mga indigents kay kon mangayo sila ug barangay clearance pangutan-on pa kon nakabotar ka ba sa ilang mga kandidato kon lain ang imong gibotaran, luoy ka lang kaayo kay ang indigent fund ang tinuod lang, gihimo na nga taming sa politika.