Bohol Earthquake – already a year ago

This morning at 8:12 a.m. available bells rang all over Bohol remembering the big Bohol Earthquake a year ago. This magnitude 7.2 earthquake destroyed  all the century old churches, many houses and roads. Bohol still suffers from this catastrophe.

Facts about the Bohol Earhquake:

• 17 towns were severely touched by this magnitude 7.2 earthquake
• 8,083 houses and buildings were destroyed beyond repair in these 17 towns
• 34,688 houses were damaged in these 17 towns
• 95,884 houses were damaged all over Bohol

And one year later:

• 29,760 were able to repair their houses using the ESA (Emergency Shelter Assistance)
• 38,801 families were able to repair their houses using the materials given by the NHA
• 2,716 others rebuilt their houses on their own.
• 1,575 families are now living in permanent shelters
• 4,358 families are still living in temporary huts and tents

Some impressions:

The shelter cluster coordinator of the province, Mrs. Liza Quirog, said that right now they have only 69 tents left in 7 hardest-hit towns. The goal is zero tents by 2015. People have not fully recovered from the trauma caused by the earthquake. There are some who still refuse to sleep inside their houses while others panic at the slightest movement. On the first anniversary of the devastating earthquake that killed more than 200 people, there are many survivors who still struggle to get back on their feet, literally, while others were courageous enough to put the nightmarish experience under the rubble of their memories.