ZAMBOANGA CITY -- Investigation is underway to determine who were behind the tsunami false alarm that stirred panic among residents in Siocon and Baliguian, Zamboanga del Norte.
Siocon Mayor Julius Lobrigas ordered the investigation as thousands of residents fled to higher grounds and to the town’s gymnasium on Wednesday night leaving their homes unguarded.
Farm owner Felipe Ybarsabal on Thursday said they fled around 11 p.m. when at least four people aboard motorcycles roamed around the residential areas shouting “that there is an incoming tsunami.”
Ybarsabal along with his wife and neighbors fled to Barangay Makiang, a high ground village, where they stayed for hours.
Ybarsabal and his wife fled aboard a motorcycle while the others in tricycles, jeeps and multicab vehicles.
They went home when a relative from this city, whom Ybarsabal has called, advised them that a tsunami is always preceded by a strong earthquake with a deep sea epicenter.
The principal generation mechanism (or cause) of a tsunami is the displacement of a substantial volume of water or perturbation of the sea usually attributed to either earthquakes, landslides, volcanic eruptions, glacier calvings or more rarely by meteorites and nuclear tests, according to Wikipedia.
Ybarsabal said the people panicked and as they also noticed the sea water level was low without even verifying whether it was high or low tide at that time.
Aside from Siocon, residents in the nearby town of Baliguian have also fled their homes due to tsunami false alarm.
“The false information just created public disturbance and panic among the constituents of Baliguian,” a public school teacher said on her social media account page.
“If you have just seen how the people have evacuated at night that was so dark,” the teacher lamented.
Lobrigas said appropriate charges should be filed against those people behind the tsunami false alarm that stirred undue panic.
The municipalities of Baliguian and Siocon were greatly affected by the onslaught of Tropical Storm “Vinta” that recently hit the country. (PNA)
