It’s the face of panic, blind panic — nameless, unreasoning emotion, a sudden onslaught of fear that paralyses the mind. It’s a kind of psychic attack that seems to come from nowhere, in reaction even to the rumor of an approaching disaster. Panic like this in a fire, or on a sinking ship, can result in more harm and injury than the real danger that brings it on.
On the day of the earthquake last week, after the main shock had subsided, I was standing at the main gate of Foundation University on Meciano road, looking at the empty street. There were still aftershocks, but the worst seemed to be over.
Suddenly, the street was filled with people running at high speed, people pushing, shoving each other to get more room, motorcycles roaring and trying to blast their way through the madding crowd. “Tsunami Attack” the people screamed as they ran by, heading for high ground.
I couldn’t believe the situation. Of course there was no tsunami- the geography of Dumaguete makes that physically impossible. But you can’t reason with panic. With the our recent tragedies here, we at least can be thankful that this particular panic only caused some embarrassment.
