It has been a year since October 15, 2013 when the catastrophic 7.2 magnitude earthquake hit the Visayas which included Cebu but most especially affected Bohol. Throughout the thousands of aftershocks which lasted months, the hundreds that were injured and lost lives, the millions who were affected and the billions worth of damages, the people kept their faith and hope to get through the hardships.
The Fatalities
Bohol
The most damage and destruction was definitely found in the province of Bohol.
Statistics and surveys have also given numbers to the casualties and damages in Bohol as the death toll was confirmed as 209, the injured were confirmed as 877, 8 were confirmed to have gone missing, at sum of at least P2.2 Billion is the estimate to the damage done to Bohol, the number of 1,255,128 people have been affected by the earthquake (in short, Bohol's entire population) and around 71,900 residential houses were damaged wherein 14,480 were totally destroyed. The most affected towns of Bohol were Loon, Carmen, Calape and Tubigon. The town of Loon had the greatest number of fatalities with 67.
Many churches were greatly damaged like in Tubigon, Dauis, Loay and Dimiao while the churchs in Loon, Loboc and Maribojoc totally collapsed. The Baclayon church and it's bell tower were also totally damaged. Other buildings like the Tagbilaran Port Terminal and several government buildings such as The Congressman Natalino P. Castillo, Sr. Memorial Hospital in Loon and multiple municipal hall and public market buildings got fatally damaged. Bohol's popular Chocolate Hills were also damaged due to landslide and an observation deck and bell tower were destroyed all located in Carmen. Around 32 bridges including some along the National Road were also destroyed along with 13 road sections which made many areas impassable and giving aid efforts and families trouble to travel. Also, the energy and power were cut off for a very long time which was also lengthened due to the Super Typhoon Yolanda/Haiyan.
Cebu
Although the epicenter of the earthquake wasn't located in Cebu, a magnitude of 7 to 8 was still felt in the Metro and Southern part of Cebu while the rest of the province experienced an intensity of 6 to 7. The numbers confirmed that 12 were confirmed dead with 96 people injured, and a whole total of 404,107 families which equaled to over 1.9 million people in both Cebu and Bohol were affected.
In Cebu, there were also buildings that acquired damage from the earthquake like the Cebu Provincial Capitol, the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño's bell tower completely collapsed, the Cebu Doctor's University Hospital and St. Vincent Hospital were damaged, a building in Pasil Fish Port collapsed and killed five people while injuring seven people and a stampede that happened in a gym had caused five deaths and injured eight.
Other Visayan Islands and Mindanao
In Iloilo in the Iloilo Airport, the administration office was damaged slightly while one person was injured. In Negros Occidental there were several private buildings which had gotten damaged while one person was injured. In Siquijor one person had died while another three were injured.
While in Mindanao the earthquake was also felt with intensities from II to V but no casualties or damages to infrastructure or houses had incurred.
Recovery and the Response Aids
After the earthquake, the citizens were in shock and fear, cowering to the hills or in the middle of the road, still having trouble to get their belongings from their homes. Although, the response aids were quick on their feet to help the battered citizens, relief goods were already being gathered up and people from all around the world were already readying their donations of not only money, but food, water, clothing, makeshift homes and more.
Letters of sympathy were also sent to the Philippines from leaders of other countries like Japan, Spain, New Zealand and Canada.
Let us give a big THANK YOU to all those who have helped out, whether they are a big organization, a small group of volunteers, or just a simple individual. Below is a list of just some of the people and organizations that helped out, we apologize if we weren't able to list down all of them:
- Assistance from the DHWD, DOH, LGUs and NGOs
- International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC)
- The Red Cross from different countries and from the Philippines
- Multiple stores and companies like Ayala, Petron, Aboitiz, Philippine Airlines(PAL) Mining Companies, GMA and many more
- Many schools and groups like University of San Carlos, University of Cebu, Bangon Bohol, Gawad Kalinga and others
- Organizations and Foundations like WHO, Habitat for Humanity, UN's WFP, Save the Children, Noah Projects, Oxfam International, Operation Blessing Foundation Philippines, World Vision, Alang Kapatid Foundation, GMA Kapuso Foundation, Taiwan Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation and many others
- International countries for sending cash donations like Japan, Canada, United States of America, Malaysia, South Korea and others
Let us all take a moment to stop and think about what we survived through, the terrors and the sorrow and the hope that was rekindled by the help of one another. Let us stop and thank God for getting us through the hardships and allowing us to survive and rebuild a better future once again. Let us celebrate life and honor the lives of the ones we lost.
A happy Anniversary and a blessed day to all!
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