Public urged not to panic amid quake text scare

MANILA, Philippines – Disaster officials appealed for sobriety in the wake of reports spread by text messaging that a powerful earthquake will hit the country due to the movement of the Philippine plate.

A text message that read: “US Geological Society predicts a 6.8 magnitude earthquake will hit Philippine Plates tonight. Please be calm but alert. This text message is from Hawaii state emergency preparedness office. Please pass (no harm in being prepared) let’s pray this will not happen,” spread like wildfire yesterday, alarming even the people manning the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC).

The NDCC said this rumor started on Tuesday after a powerful 7.9 quake devastated China on Monday, leaving thousands of people dead and injured.

NDCC spokesman Anthony Golez said people at the anti-disaster agency are puzzled about where these text messages are coming from.

He said no gadget has ever been invented to predict quakes.

Golez said President Arroyo has advised him to immediately issue an advisory to caution the public on this false alarm.

“There is no organization capable of predicting an earthquake which is very specific in terms of magnitude and the date. There is no US Geological Society, only US Geological Survey but they do not issue predictions, especially for areas outside the US,” the NDCC said in a text message.

“We don’t know if there are people who want to ride on the China quake and create havoc here, that is why we are enjoining the public to remain calm. There is no truth to this warning. No person or group can predict when and where an earthquake will happen,” stressed Golez.

He said the government, as part of its disaster-preparedness program, has been conducting earthquake drills on a nationwide scale all year round, and emphasized that no government around the world can prevent natural disasters, like earthquake, from happening.

“All we can do is to be prepared and be alert. That is why we have this anti-disaster preparedness program to cushion the impact of disasters,” Golez said.

A 5.4 magnitude earthquake, meanwhile, hit the northern part of Luzon and was felt in Isabela, Aurora and Baguio City but no injury was reported.

Renato Solidum, director of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs), said the quake was not strong enough to cause injury or damage. – Helen Flores, Mary Grace Ingaran and Allan Ray Policarpio