By TRISTAN LOZANO
The nation remembers on Tuesday, July 16, the magnitude 7.8-earthquake that struck a wide swathe of Luzon Island and killed more than 1,000 persons 34 years ago.
People posted their memories of the July 16, 1990 event on Facebook like it was yesterday.
Netizens posted what they remember of the event on the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology Facebook page with the hashtag #throwbackearthquakeinfo.
Flo Santos said she was working in her hometown Bulacan when the earthquake struck.
“Yes po. Very memorable po un, I was sewing during that time in our hometown in Bulacan, while some are planting rice on the field. Then, un n po, lumindol n at sigawan ang mga tao.”
(Yes, it was very memorable. I was sewing during that time in our hometown in Bulacan, while some were planting on the field. Then, the earthquake struck and the people shouted)
Others were also working when the temblor occurred.
“It was a Monday if I recall it right, I was at work in one of the well-known hotels here in Manila. There was a thunderstorm before it hit. I remember running out of the lobby of the hotel along with other employees and guests,” Joel Nuguid said.
“At first, I thought it was an explosion until I felt the trembling. Upon getting out, I crouched at the hotel's driveway entrance praying. Looking up, I can see the building swaying. we went back in the lobby afterwards with the lights out with dust all over and smelling of cement due to the cracks sustained by the structure. Employees were highly strung going on duty that week because of the aftershocks,” Nuguid added.
Some who were children at that time also recalled the event.
“Yes, Tanda ko ito. Kahit five-years-old pa lang ako nasa taga-Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija kami, bumuka ung lupa nun sakto kung saan ako nakatayo ‘yung isang paa ko nun nasa mismo bitak na lupa na buti nahila ako ng lola ko that time bago bili ung tsinelas ko siyempre wla ako muwang pa nun iyak ako hindi dahil sa lindol kundi sa bago ko tsinelas,” Lovely dela Cruz Rivarez said.
(Yes, I vividly remember this. I was five-years-old then in Nueva Ecija. The earth opened and my grandmother was able to pull me out to safety. I cried not because of the earthquake but what happened to my new slippers)
Another said the earthquake was a close call for her.
“Three-days-old palang ako nito, muntik na daw ako madaganan ng cabinet,” Katherine Kae Zarate Mallari said.
(I was a three-day-old baby back then. A cabinet nearly toppled and hit me)
Other were close and were in the area.
“I remember. I was there,” George M. Cox, a foreigner, said.
“I was there third year in college at SLU. Good thing wala kami pasok that day kasi nagwelga mga students,” Gil Guillermo said.
(I was there third year in college at SLU. Good thing there were no classes that day as students were on strike)
Another noted that the earthquake led to another catastrophic event in less than a year – the eruption of Mount Pinatubo in Zambales.
“It was also the trigger for the Pinatubo eruption 11 months later. Tectonic plates slowly moved releasing compression forces on the boundary under Pinatubo allowing magma to rise,” Peter Gilchrist said.
“Let us not forget the lessons we learned from the past,” Art Tibaldo said.
Baguio City, which bore the brunt of the seismic event, also remembered that fateful day.
Baguio City Guide described the event in four words: “The longest 45 seconds.”
The Baguio City Public Information Office urged prayers for the victims of the tragedy in a Facebook post.
“Prayers for the souls of those who perished and harmed by the tragedy. For the survivors and the present generation, may God spare us from any form of devastation for the rest of our lives,” it said.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said the temblor struck the northern and central parts of Luzon at 4:26 p.m.
More than 1,200 persons were killed and infrastructure worth P10 billion was damaged. Among the prominent buildings that toppled or was destroyed were the Agoo Basilica in Agoo, La Union and the Hyatt Hotel in Baguio.
The epicenter of the earthquake, considered as one of the most destructive in the Philippines, was Rizal, Nueva Ecija, northeast of Cabanatuan City.
Phivolcs said strong shaking was widely felt and resulted to damaged structures in Baguio City, Cabanatuan City, Dagupan City, and San Fernando City, La Union.
The earthquake was also felt in Metro Manila and damaged several buildings.
Phivolcs added that the earthquake generated a 120-kilometer long surface rupture on the Digdig segment of the Philippine Fault and other geologic impacts such as liquefaction and earthquake-induced landslides were also documented.