I was shaken out of my bed at pre-sparrow fart in the morning. It was still dark when I woke to the whole building on the move, and my groggy thoughts had no idea what was happening. Still dreaming maybe or an earthquake?
It stopped abruptly and I figured it was my imagination. I was upstairs at a hometel on the tiny island of Batanes in The Philippines, and the folks I was staying with (including my late partners sister) were all a staircase away, downstairs so comparing notes was not happening.
I did the only sane thing my brain could comprehend. I rolled back into the bed, now fully clothed in case, and nodded off.
BUT That Wasn’t The End
At seven it started again, worse, and it didn’t stop. Panic set in, I figured it was an earthquake, either that or the building was collapsing. I opened my door and slid into the hallway. At the other end was the 16 year old daughter of the owners and she was mirroring my wild look, fear written all over her face. She mouths earthquake? My response back just as silently, earthquake?
She disappeared downstairs, and it stops – no correlation. I sit on the side of my bed, heart racing and try to remember what I should do in this situation. My mind was a blank, not very helpful. And before you say it, the Internet was sporadic in this cute but rugged wilderness of a tropical island, so googling it was not an option.
Outside Knocked on My Head
I put on shoes, I figured they would be useful if this earthquake kept playing peekaboo. I went downstairs to talk to the adults and the place was deserted, even the daughter had disappeared. Not a soul in sight and I wondered if there was something I should know that I didnt.
Maybe a shelter or a bunker somewhere where everyone had sheltered? I looked for a note, tried the phone and as usual there was no signal. Not unusual on the island.
Wandering a Ghost Town
I wandered down the street outside, carefully. There was a house not far away, a friend of my sister in law and one of the few people I knew there. So I headed there through deserted streets. I called out when I arrived, and started breathing again when she came outside, cup of tea in hand.
The most normal thing ever.
I must have looked spooked, she gently ushered me inside and sat me down at the kitchen table. A moment later she plopped a cup of tea in front of me. The radio was on and she was listening to the news. I stayed quiet while she listened, it seemed important, I was simply relieved to be in the company of another person.
What Had Happened
Eventually she switched the radio off and turned to me to explain what was happening. We were momentarily interrupted as a massive after shock hit and we decided that sitting outside in her garden may be a better strategy.
We were in the capital of Basco, and the earthquake epicentre was on the small island of Itbayat not far away. It was a magnitude 6.0 with catastrophic consequences. The traditional Batanes houses are built with heavy stones without anything holding them together, they are simply balanced and have stood against massive typhoons for many years. But failed against this earthquake.
The foreshock was so early that the nine folks that died were mostly killed by heavy stones falling on them as traditional houses collapsed with the force of the earth shaking.
The toll on houses was much higher, and the rebuilding of homes on Itbayat was a massive undertaking that had to be faced after the much loved community members were mourned.
How We Coped With Endless After Shocks
During the day there was after shocks over and over and over. It’s weird how you get used to something so terrifying, it quickly becomes your new normal. That night, after going home, we decided to drink. We couldn’t stop what was happening, so why fight it.
We got very drunk, a group of us. After every tremor we would look at each other, laugh, and charge our glasses. There was over three hundred after shocks that day, it was relentless over an eighteen hour period.
The mourning and rebuilding began the next day, but that night we gave thanks for our survival, our safety, and condolences for all the innocent souls lost.
pEAce Out