Janelyn Dinaga filmed a fast food restaurant collapsing that she had escaped from in a 7.8-magnitude quake
“The children have been traumatized. Even a slight shaking makes my kids cry. Even when they’re in a deep sleep, they wake up and rush outside.”
“I was worried about my family, especially for my children because they are still young, and for their safety. What was really on my mind was hoping that my daughter at school was safe.”
Several buildings collapsed during the quake in General Santos City, which is home to 700,000 people.
“Right now, our situation is that we are waiting for help from the government. We have no electricity and no water, and we are looking for a place where we can charge our phones so we can contact our families.”
Dinaga said she immediately went to her daughter’s school to pick her up and then went to her in-laws’ home to take shelter.
She recounted how they felt strong aftershocks and could not sleep at night because of the fear that the roof they slept under would collapse. She asked the government to help.
The powerful earthquake has killed at least 37 people and injured hundreds.
The quake struck early on Monday morning about 20 km (12.4 miles) off the coast of Sarangani province, with tremors felt strongly across Mindanao and as far as the city of Manado, 420 km (261 miles) away on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi.