Tsunami scare hits Cebu City
ABS-CBNnews.com
Updated as of 02/06/2012 9:06 PMMANILA, Philippines - False rumors of a tsunami coming to devastate earthquake-affected areas caused widespread panic in Visayas today, stopping traffic in Cebu City and panicking residents.
A video taken earlier today at around 3:30 p.m. by hotel worker Jose Gochangco using his iPhone showed people running on the streets, and drivers honking their horns as motor vehicles were stuck in traffic.
Gochangco was in the lobby on the 7th floor of the GV Hotel on Osmeña Boulevard corner Sanciangko Street in Cebu City when people who had come up from the street told hotel staff that seawater had reached downtown Cebu City.
A security guard went up to the hotel’s top floor to see if the people’s story was true, but found that the coast looked the same as usual, and nothing seemed to have changed.
“Pagtingin namin sa labas, may mga tao nang tumatakbo, may mga kotseng bumubusina. Puro flat land dito, pumupunta yata sila sa pedestrian bridge for safety, o gusto lang nilang makalayo sa tubig,†Gochangco said.
False reports had allegedly been spread by people on motorcycles, who said that a tsunami was coming to sweep Cebu City away.
According to Gochangco, “Karamihan ng tao daw, nakita nila ang ibang taong tumatakbo, sumali na rin sila.â€
“May mga tumawag rin nga sa aking kaibigan ko, nagsasabi, binaha na raw ba kami, nasaan na ang tubig, sabi ko wala naman dito,†he said.
Foreign tourists had also come up to the hotel to seek refuge or even watch the water coming in.
About an hour after the panic, local officials reportedly went around the city in a fire truck to clarify that there was no tsunami.
“Nobody on our staff was hurt,†Gochangco said. “Sana hindi naman dumating ang panahon na magiging mahalagang mataas ang building ng hotel namin.â€
A magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck between the islands of Cebu and Negros on Monday morning, killing at least seven people. Intensity V was felt in Cebu City.
Tsunami alert level 2 was raised by the Philippine Institute for Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) in Negros and Cebu. The alert was lifted at 2:30 p.m.
(With reports from Lean Lacap and Rhoel Fernandez, Regional Network Group)Linkback:
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