“tsunami” false alarm: one year after the incident that shook Cebu

Saw this video in Facebook, and I can’t believe it’s been one year since the false alarm “tsunami” alert here in Cebu City.

You wanna know my experience?

During the tremor, I was in the elevator (yes, a freaking elevator). It was shaking really strong and we were afraid the elevator might fall to the ground. Thankfully, the emergency power was back, and the elevator doors were opened. We rushed down the stairs and stayed on the safe ground.

But that’s not all.

2 hours after the incident, our boss decided we head home where it’s safe because there still might be aftershocks, and staying in an office 7-floors up the ground is not really reassuring. Most of us didn’t want to go home yet so we decided to go to our officemate’s house. We rode a jeepney to Guadalupe that afternoon when the jeep stopped and we saw people running like crazy, and shouting “TSUNAMI”. We were confused if the tsunami was real, so we contacted some people to confirm in the news. We also walked from Capitol to IT Park. We saw motorcycles crashed, vehicles parked in the road, people carrying stuffs (like their appliances and some inflatables), and many crying because of panic, and I for one was really scared that time.

Some people, especially those who were not on the road that time during the chaos, were laughing and mocking those panicking people. Yeah, it was a hoax and a very very serious false alarm. And we knew better because tsunami don’t suddenly occur in this area, or if it did, it won’t reach as far as Capitol area. Unless it’s the end of the world, then shit can happen.

But if you were there in the road, with those panicking people running around, you can’t help but worry and not think straight because of all the chaos going around. Especially if you were stucked earlier in the elevator 7-floors up while the ground was shaking madly.

I really thought that time it was the 2012 apocalypse. I just laugh at myself now remembering it. So it might seem very funny to some people, but it was one of the most scariest moments I had.

Leave A Comment

Please be polite. We appreciate that. Your email address will not be published and required fields are marked