surigao Quake

[arvin555]

Hennme69c please sound off! Hoping you are safe!

My relatives in Surigao are all safe and accounted for, but they did mention that there were huge damages in terms of items broken within their houses and businesses.

I have lost Hennme69c's cell number and thus can't contact him through mobile phone.

TTFN
Arvin

[hennme69c]

Yeah, I should have posted earlier. Quite a shaker. Knocked everything and everybody over. Almost all of my glassware is trash, now. The ref fared well. Good thing, too, because I had just gotten back from S&R Cebu that morning with 10,000 pesos worth of frozen food. Power was out for a little over 2 days. Water is still out. There was a fiber break about halfway between Surigao City and Butuan. Internet was down for 2 days. There was no cell signal for about 30 minutes after the initial quake. There is an article in this morning's Sun Star that water is restored, but we don't have any at this house, yet. Every gripo in the city is probably open. LOL
There was a brand new pension house a few blocks away that fell over. It was on an ABS-CBN video. The Gaisano and Parkway malls took some major damage. A few other large buildings downtown are showing large cracks. Most houses are OK.
Lots of aftershocks. A 4.5 yesterday knocked power out again for about 30 minutes. Several 3.5 to 4.0 keep us all alert.
But since the initial shock, life is almost back to normal. Bottled water is plentiful, refilling stations are open, no price gouging that I've seen, groceries open as they're cleaning up, markets are showing normal traffic.

Thanks fr the concern, kuya.

[arvin555]

Very happy to note that you are okay!

Thanks for the update. After talking to relatives in Surigao, the scenarios that they were giving here in Metro Manila was fairly accurate. As you said, No cell service and no Power, which adds to the panic and confusion!
No airport operation to boot! Lucky Surigao has a very active port and a nearby airstrip in Butuan.

Yes same report with us, that all glassware are trashed! All homes of relatives report that same thing!

Hoping to figure out how to improve my house and office based on experiences reported from the Surigao quake.

Keep safe! An aunt was already reporting that the aftershocks are getting to her.


TTFN
Arvin

[hennme69c]

The best way to prepare your office and home is like preparing for heavy weather at sea: tie everything down. I've been in some really rough weather where nothing broke because it was all secured for the movement, beforehand. Had the cabinets had doors, had the doors had strong latches, had the TV been tied or bolted, probably nothing would have broken except pictures falling from the wall, and even those can be secured.
Keep consumables in-stock, but that's not always practical. For example, bottled water will go bad after time. We have two bottles of gasul; one for use and one for spare. Good for typhoons as well as earthquakes. The morning after, I went looking for gasoline for my generator. It was early in the morning, but I only found one of seven gas stations open. Later in the day, six of seven were open, but gasoline is like bottled water; it will also go bad over time.

We still do not have running water despite the report, 3 days ago, here: http://www.sunstar.com.ph/manila/loc...surigao-525774
It may have to do with bridges. Seems like the downtown area has water service, but those living on the other side of a bridge do not.
But I did get a water bill, yesterday. LOL

Aftershocks continue, yes. Sitting at my computer, I can feel more than if I'm up and about. I felt maybe six yesterday but I'm sure there were more than that. Two were strong enough to make noise and shake everything; strong enough to feel but not strong enough to cause damage. Good place to track: http://www.phivolcs.dost.gov.ph/html.../EQLatest.html

One report I saw had the airport closed until mid-March. We used to get 2-3 flights per day from Cebu City and Manila. Two ports, both are open, though the main terminal took some damage. Some pics here of airport and terminal damage: http://news.abs-cbn.com/news/multime...-of-earthquake

[arvin555]

Kuya,

Thanks for the insights, these are valuable because you have experienced it yourself and still fresh in your mind the what ifs and what should have been done, etc.

My aunt reported that all of their LPG tanks ended up toppled over! Now I am not sure if an LPG tank that is connected to a stove and regulator valve turned on and toppled will start leaking Gas! It might right? Specially if the hose gets disconnected. If the regulator gets disconnected then should be safe!

Hmm Cabinet latches!

Good tip about considering the same scenario as in a Ship/boat. I may be able to get some ideas from boats shelf designs and such.

TTFN
Arvin

[hennme69c]

In that scenario, I believe the LPG would leak out. We make it a habit to keep the valve closed when the tank is not in use.