4.9 Magnitude Earthquake Hits Mindoro, Philippines on April 8, 2014

April 8, 2014 , 1:18 a.m. Philippine Standard Time

The technical details

A 4.9-magnitude earthquake (according to earthquake-report.com) hit the Mindoro Provinces in the Philippines at around 1:18 a.m. Philippine Standard Time today, April 8, 2014.

The earthquake lasted for only a few seconds, approximately no more than 5 seconds. It was moderate and short, but was sharp.

As illustrated in the map of Mindoro below, the epicenter of the earthquake is near the municipality of Sablayan, Occidental Mindoro with a depth (Hypocenter) or radius of 10 km. (The town's name "Sablayan" was hidden in the picture when the coordinates appeared.)

Earthquake preparedness guide

We've all witnessed terrible aftermaths of earthquakes. While the phenomenon itself may not be avoided, we can definitely avoid or reduce the risk of injuries and damages by following an earthquake preparedness guide. A simple rule of thumb is to drop, cover and hold on. Check out ready.gov for information on what to do before, during and after an earthquake.


My personal experience of the earthquake

I live in the town of San Jose, Occidental Mindoro but I felt the sharp shake. When this earthquake happened, my kids were sleeping in the same room. I was browsing the internet and doing my social networking routine when I suddenly heard the window pane shattering, felt the ground shaking and saw my sister's doll display case move a bit.

This is the display rack in our room and the doll display case I was talking about. It was a scary thought that it was going to fall. Our room is only about 4x3 sq. meters so everything will definitely fall over to us.

While the ground was shaking, I felt blood rushing to my head, my hands shaking, my heart beating ten times faster and my whole body cold. I can hear our neighbor's dogs barking all of a sudden. I immediately picked up my baby and sat down beside my son, panicking and trying to think about what to do in case the earthquake doesn't stop immediately, or if the display rack and everything else tips over to us.

Thank God it was over in a few seconds. However, I still couldn't stand up due to fear of what happened and fear of an immediate aftershock.

I grabbed my phone, and you can probably guess what I did first. Yup, I posted a Facebook status update. But believe me, it being a fad wasn't the reason. I just wanted to immediately tell someone about the earthquake and maybe ask for sympathy, help, guidance, or spot someone else post the same status (and I did) - whatever I can gain to calm down since I was too afraid to stand up to walk over to the next room where my cousin and his wife sleep, or to my parents' bijou hut ("kubo") outside to tell them about what happened, in case they didn't know yet. I wasn't able to top up my phone for prepaid credits but it was Wi-Fi connected so I sent a text message thru Chikka to my parents, asking them if they felt the quake and telling them I was too scared to leave our room.

I was still feeling dizzy, or maybe the ground was still shaking a bit when my mother opened the door to our room. She said she didn't initially feel the earthquake but was feeling the ground still shaking a bit while asking about what happened. My mother said the rack was hooked to the wall so it was quite secure, but said we should move the display case just to be safe.

My realizations

I know it was just a moderate earthquake, but it was a near-death experience.

The summary of all my poor decisions, mistakes, sins and everything I have so wrongfully done all flashed before my eyes. I felt the greatest fear I have never felt before of losing my family, my kids (Oh I hate typing that!!!).

I realized everything can be taken away from us in an instant, whether we like it or not. I realized that this life is indeed only borrowed and that we must live it to the fullest and according to God's will. I was afraid that my kids and my family would suffer from injuries or who knows what. I have so much more I want to give to and do for them. 

It scared the hell out of me, literally. I was scared of death and hell. It was as if my mind constantly kept saying "repent, repent, repent..." I remember a dear friend saying she is not afraid of death; she knows where she is headed to come judgment day. I now realize she was spot on. I was afraid to die as I feel I'm going to hell (Oh I hate that again!!).

I want to pour my whole heart out in this post but it would take ages to finish it. But these are for sure: The incident somehow renewed my heart and mind. From now on, putting off for tomorrow what I can do today is out of my vocabulary. I will find and create time for everything. There will be no more excuses of not living this God-given life to the fullest.


P.S.
I lied down for a few minutes before posting this and I still felt the ground shaking. Or maybe it was just my heart pounding.