LET us pray after multiple earthquakes jolted parts of Luzon on Saturday afternoon with the strongest one recorded at Magnitude 6, registering an Intensity 7 in the town of Mabini in Batangas.
According to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology’s (Phivolcs) Earthquake Intensity Scale, Intensity 7 is “destructive.”
Phivolcs measured the first earthquake at magnitude 5.6, with its epicenter two kilometers northwest of Mabini. The temblor was felt around Metro Manila and other parts of Luzon.
Today, Filipinos in Luzon are afraid. They wait in fear of the next tremor where the aftershocks could be more powerful than the main shock. They hear the cries of the injured amid the rubble. They roam the streets in shock at what they see and avoid staying indoors in their houses.
Why should we be concerned about what befell to our fellow Filipinos in Luzon, especially the Batangas areas?
For one thing, earthquakes like this remind us that the ground beneath our feet is not as solid as we had imagined.
Lest we forget, in 2014, a strong earthquake hit Negros Occidental, causing tremors in parts of the province and neighboring places in western Visayas region.
Phivolcs said the epicenter of the Magnitude 6.3 quake was located some 49 kilometers southwest of the town of Hinoba-an. The offshore earthquake had a depth of 10 kilometers and was tectonic in origin, meaning its movement came from the shifting of the plates of the earth’s crust.
Bacoleños experienced Intensity 4 where the tremors were felt in Bacolod, Bago, and Sipalay, Negros Occidental.
Last weekend, it was Luzon. Down the road, an earthquake might revisit us again in the province. And next time, we might experience a more intense jolt. And we will realize that we are in the mercy of nature, and the only thing that could save us is the mercy of God.
Father God, as the things we have built crumble, we know too well how small we truly are on this ever-changing, ever-moving, fragile planet we call home.
Embrace in your arms those who died so suddenly. Console the hearts of those who mourn, and ease the pain of bodies on the brink of death.
And once the shaking has ceased, the images of destruction have stopped filling the news, and our thoughts return to life's daily rumblings, let us not forget that we are all your children and they, our sisters and brothers.
We are all the work of your hands. For though the mountains leave their place and the hills be tossed to the ground, your love shall never leave us and your promise of peace will never be shaken. Amen.
(bsanc@yahoo.com)
