by Prov’l.
Press Bureau
During the 39th Tsunami Commemoration
of the Moro Gulf Tsunami, a survivor highlighted the importance of a disaster
preparedness to lessen the adverse effects of calamities on the populace. In
the commemoration last August 17, 1976 Earthquake and Tsunami Commemoration
Preparedness Day at F. S. Pajares Avenue in front of Alvin Bazar, survivor Luz
Yañez said that disaster training would help the people prepare for any
emergencies.
“I thank the government for conducting
disaster preparedness training because through this, people would know what to
do when disaster strikes and they would also know where to go to protect them
from great destructions, Yañez said in vernacular.
Yañez recounted that she lost her mother and
3 year old brother to the earthquake induced tsunami that occurred several
minutes after the midnight of August 17, 1976.
“If the people know where to run and escape
from the giant waves, my family and thousand others would be spared, she
added.”
The tsunami left 1,400 people dead, 7,100
seriously injured, and more than a thousand missing. It was an earthquake that
resulted in massive destruction of properties and great loss of lives. The
tsunami generated contributed immensely to the devastation.
The cities and provinces of Cotabato took the
brunt of the earthquake while the tsunami unleashed its fury in the provinces
bordering the Moro Gulf, especially on the shores of Pagadian City.
After the sea rolled back to its natural
flow, thousands of people were left dead, others homeless or missing, and
millions of pesos worth of properties were lost.
The said activity was graced with Honorable
Governor Antonio H. Cerilles as the guest speaker commemorating the devastating
disaster that led our provincial leaders to plan and be ready in times of
disaster such as the Tsunami of 1976 in Pagadian City.
