All work and no play isn’t good. So, from time to time, we take vacations on weekends to unwind and get ready for more work on the weeks ahead. This time we chose Laiya, a coastal haven found in San Juan, Batangas.
Saturday, 27 February 2010: We had a nice, leisurely drive towards the place and after scouring the area for a place to stay (which reminds me to remind you that you should get a reservation before heading to wherever you want to go), we unpacked our bags and attacked the beach. The resort has no TV in the rooms, which is just right, I thought, because one comes to the beach to soak the sun’s rays or simply catch the salty breeze. We didn’t come here to watch TV.
Except that if we had TV, we would have known earlier that at around the same time we checked-in, a 8.8 magnitude earthquake hit Chile, which resulted to tsunami warnings in Pacific countries, including Hawaii, Japan and, of course, the Philippines. Good thing bloggers have laptops even on vacation.
Tsunami travel time from Chile earthquake (courtesy of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)
Hawaii already issued evacuation orders. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) has issued an advisory for areas at the eastern side of the Archipelago to prepare, but no evacuation order just yet.
The estimated tsunami travel time chart indicates that a tsunami MAY hit the Philippines after around 22 hours from the time of the earthquake. Hopefully it would reach this part (or any other parts for that matter). But even assuming the work case scenario that it will have some effect here, there’s still enough time to take a last dip when the sun rises three hours from now. The estimated arrival time of the first tsunami waves, according to Phivolcs, is between 1:00 p.m. to 2:30PM (Philippine Time) on 28 February 2010 (Sunday afternoon).
Or maybe we should pack up and go home first thing in the morning. Just to be safe.
The Tsunami Bulletin reads in full:
27 February 2010, 3:10 PM
TSUNAMI ALERT LEVEL 1
Standby for Possible Evacuation
A strong distant earthquake occurred NEAR COAST OF CHILE at 02:34 PM (PhilippineTime), located at 36.1 ºS, 72.6 ºW with depth of 55 km and a preliminary magnitude of 8.5. An earthquake of this size has the potential to generate a destructive tsunami that canstrike coastlines in the region near the epicenter within minutes to hours. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii will monitor sea level gauges nearest the region and report if any tsunami wave activity is observed.
PHIVOLCS Tsunami ALERT Level is 1. NO EVACUATION ORDER is in effect but communities along the east coast of the country (listed below) are advised to wait for further information and to prepare for possible evacuation.
Coastal areas fronting the Pacific Ocean of the following provinces should keep watch:
Batanes Group of Islands
Cagayan
Ilocos Norte
Isabela
Quezon
Aurora
Camarines Norte
Camarines Sur
Albay
Catanduanes
Sorsogon
Northern Samar
Eastern Samar
Leyte
Southern Leyte
Surigao del Norte
Surigao del Sur
Davao Oriental
Davao del Sur
Be safe, everyone.
Loading ...