Emergency Preparedness and Survival Kit

A few minutes after I finished posting my Monday quote about Life yesterday here, I felt and heard things shaking. I thought it was just my legs shaking because of hunger (I usually forget about eating when I'm in front of the computer.) but it didn't stop right away and when I looked around, everything's swaying -- our fan, our TV set, the computer table, water dispenser, etc..I looked at my baby on his high chair being fed by his Yaya.  Then it dawned on me that it was an earthquake! This all happened in a span of seconds. The ground kept on shaking that I unplugged our tv and electric fan, the laptop and we went out of the front door. My heart pounding. After a few when it stopped, we went inside and I started dialing the numbers of my family here in Cebu. Honey was at work and my sister did not feel it since she's on the road. I also tried calling Nanay to assure her we're ok but the network was busy. Not sure if it's because everyone's calling their loved ones or because cell sites were damaged/affected by the quake.


I checked the PHIVOLCS site but I couldn't access it so I went to the USGS website and it said that the earthquake was magnitude 6.8 at epicenter which is the Negros-Cebu Region. I posted the USGS link in twitter and got surprised that #earthquake was trending. Kinda amusing, really. Oh well.

It said online that the quake lasted for only 20+ seconds, it felt longer, it felt like the longest minute of my life. When the panic subsided, I looked at the time and it was 11:52 AM Manila time. The last time I experienced a strong earthquake was in 1990, I was 9 years old then but I still remember the devastation it left specially in Baguio and other northern provinces. So it was really scary. And it did not stop there. There were several strong aftershocks. When we were watching the evening news (TV Patrol), it said that PHIVOLCS traced the earthquake to a newly-discovered fault line! They haven't mapped it yet. And we thought there is no fault line near Cebu. :( 


PHIVOLCS warned that there will be more aftershocks in the coming weeks. (See: Phivolcs warns public on more aftershocks) There were at least 2 yesterday with magnitudes 6 and 6.2. :( And this morning was was a 4.6 magnitude at 7:47 AM. *sigh* Anyway, it is because of this that I thought we should be preparing an emergency kit/bag with basic necessities in case we have to run out of the house. I wanted to share this with you so that we can all be prepared in *God-forbid* emergency cases.

*image from the web*

Here's on my list:

1. First aid kit - for shallow wounds like gauze pads, hydrogen peroxide (agua occinada), betadine, band aids, over-the-counter meds like pain relievers, anti-diarrhea, etc.

2. Flash lights and extra batteries

3. a blanket - 1 for each person, I also instructed the Yaya to prepare her bag

4. small towel

5. a pair or 2 pairs of extra clothes for each person

6. drinking water

7. ready-to-eat canned food, crackers/cookies and noodles

8. toothpaste and toothbrush

9. tissue

10. soap

11. feminine supplies and diapers for the toddler
12. milk formula, and bottles for Gabriel

13. plastics

14. some cash

15. important documents (like insurance cards, passports and the likes) in a waterproof bags

16. chargers

There are probably other things that you might need and would want to add or remove. And please do share if you have an advice.

Also, for those who find the earthquake amusing, pray that it won't happen to you. And please do NOT spread false information that could cause more panic such as what happened in downtown Colon yesterday. See link.

Amidst all of these, the best thing we can do is to PRAY for everyone's safety.

Keep safe, y'all!

<3 <3 <3