Those of us who felt and saw the effects of the Magnitude 6.9 earthquake that hit northern Negros Oriental on February 6, 2012, or the magnitude 7.2 earthquake that struck Bohol on October 15, 2013, will surely feel sorry for our brothers and sisters in Leyte who experienced a Magnitude 6.5 earthquake last week.
Those who felt the most intense shaking of the earth probably felt the world was coming to an end. Surprisingly, the Leyte earthquake had the lowest fatality rate, claiming three lives, versus the 52 killed in Negros Oriental and the 222 in Bohol. The stories you will hear from the Leyte survivors will no doubt be different from the stories we’ve already heard. These have now become familiar stories.
That’s why we know the pain our brothers and sisters in Leyte are going through at this moment. There will be sleepless nights, mental anguish and uncertainty.
Those of us who have lived through, or have experienced, even vicariously, an earthquake as big as the last two big earthquakes in the Visayas, should do what we can to reach out to our Leyte survivors.
Find a way, through the Red Cross, through your church or other networks, to reach out to them. If you so wish, you may call the MetroPost office and we will find a way to get your help to those who need it most.
Some may find it strange that we are sharing the same tragic stories on the same familiar themes. But we should begin to see these events as an opportunity to practice Christian charity by sharing part of ourselves with those in need.
We cannot stop these calamities from happening but we can only help one another to get by them and rise from the rubble.
