The 2013 Bohol earthquake occurred on October 15 at 8:12:31 PST in Bohol, an island province located in Central Visayas, Philippines. The magnitude of the earthquake was recorded at Mw 7.2, with epicenter 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) of Sagbayan, and its depth of focus was 12 kilometres (7.5 mi). It affected the whole Central Visayas region, particularly Bohol and Cebu. The quake was felt in the whole Visayas area and as far as Masbate island in the north and Cotabato provinces in southern Mindanao.
The earthquake struck as the Philippines was observing the Feast of Our Lady of Pillar and the Muslim community Eifyadd. As concession to its Muslim Minoriry, the Government declare it a public holiday and therefore all were closed schools, which helped reduce the number of casualties.
It was the deadliest earthquake in the Philippines in 23 years since the 1990 Luzon earthquake. The energy released by the quake was equivalent to 32 Hiroshima bombs.
TESTIMONIES
"When the earthquake struck,the seabed rose the water from below rose like fountains from these cracks. I was on the sea along with other fishermen when the tremor occurred. We heard sounds from under the sea like fire from machine guns." - Tony Sarabia, 53, Fisherman
"I was inside the bathroom, taking a bath, when the earthquake struck around 8:10 am, I cannot move a get out of the bathroom due to the intensity of the earthquake. My house was located at the foot of the hill destabilized, a landslide occurred hitting my house" - Mayor Ricardo Suarez
