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SCMP’s Asia desk

A family member who shared CCTV footage of relatives fleeing a house during the powerful magnitude 7.8 earthquake that struck the southern Philippine island of Mindanao earlier this month has apologised to his grandmother, who was left alone inside as the home shook violently.
The clip, shared on social media on June 12 by Jonard Abrasado, showed several people gathered near the woman as she sat on a plastic chair moments before intense tremors struck.
As the house began to shake, one person carried a child outside while others also fled, leaving furniture and appliances rattling around the elderly woman, who held on to a table before falling to the floor.
A relative rushed back into the house after the jolting subsided and lifted the woman, who had spent several frightening seconds alone inside.


In his social media post, Abrasado apologised to his grandmother in Cebuano and said he feared the worst while travelling home after the quake.
“I’m so sorry, Grandma,” he wrote. “I honestly thought all of you in the house had been badly hurt. It was the first time my heart had pounded that hard while I was travelling home, because I thought something terrible had happened to all of you.”
Abrasado said he had not been home when the quake struck, adding that he would have taken his grandmother outside immediately and was grateful a relative had returned for her.
In a separate post, he thanked well-wishers and said the grandmother, who needed treatment for a lump on her back, was “OK”.
The relative who returned for the woman said she “panicked” and struggled to get back inside because she was thrown around outside.

The magnitude 7.8 quake, which struck offshore near Sarangani province in the southern Philippines on June 8, killed at least 65 people, injured more than 1,000 and damaged thousands of homes.
The Philippines sits on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, where several tectonic plates meet, making earthquakes and volcanic eruptions recurring hazards across the archipelago.
Some social media users wondered how the woman must have felt after being “completely forgotten”.
“It is just so painful to think about her sitting there helpless, enduring that terrifying moment all by herself,” a commenter said.
Other users expressed relief that the roof did not collapse and that the grandmother appeared to have avoided serious injury.
“I watched this video and shed tears for the old woman,” a user said.
Some also praised the plastic chair, calling it “one of the most important pillars of Filipino civilisation” and noting that the ubiquitous item can be found across the country, from houses and basketball courts to construction sites and fishing boats.
“I am convinced that if a Filipino discovered a brand-new, uninhabited island tomorrow, the first thing to appear would not be a house, electricity or the internet. It would be a plastic chair,” another user said.
The Abrasado family’s footage was one of several videos from the June 8 quake that stirred strong reactions online.


In another widely shared CCTV clip, a grandmother was seen rushing towards her young grandson as tremors shook their home. She then picked him up and tried to shield him.
The clip drew sympathy on social media, where one user wrote: “Poor woman, what a terrifying time! Glad they’re both unharmed.” Others said the footage showed how difficult it was for the grandmother to move as the room shook violently.


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The Philippines

CCTV camera from a home in the Philippines showing the moments before and after the magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck on June 8. Photo: Facebook / Jonard Pacres Abrasado

Jonard Abrasado said the grandmother was doing well after her traumatic experience during the earthquake. Photo: Facebook/silvertoes78 

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A worker walks near a collapsed building in General Santos, southern Philippines, on June 8 following the magnitude 7.8 quake. Photo: Reuters

Damaged houses are seen in Glan, Sarangani province, on June 10 after the magnitude 7.8 earthquake. Photo: Reuters

Rescuers use a search-and-rescue dog to look for trapped people at a collapsed supermarket in Calumpang, General Santos, on June 9. Photo: Reuters

Filipino schoolchildren cover their heads with books during an earthquake drill in Valenzuela City in 2007. Photo: EPA

A woman walks past a photo exhibition in central Tokyo remembering the 1923 earthquake that hit the Japanese capital and surrounding areas, killing more than 100,000 people. Photo: AFP

Rescuers walk past the rubble of a collapsed building in Angeles City, the Philippines’ Pampanga province, on May 25. Photo: AFP

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People collect their belongings from a damaged house following an earthquake off the southern Philippine island of Mindanao on Monday. Photo: Reuters

A damaged shop after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake, in General Santos City, Mindanao, the Philippines, on Monday. Photo: Xinhua

Children try to escape as the roof of a structure at Deped Mahayahay Elementary School collapses during an earthquake in Digos, Mindanao, on Monday. Photo: Deped Mahayahay Elementary School/Handout via Reuters

Patients sit at a school after being evacuated from a hospital following an earthquake off the southern Philippine island of Mindanao on Monday. Photo: Reuters

Vehicles damaged by debris after a powerful earthquake hit the Mindanao region in the Philippines on Monday. Photo: Ernesto Torres Jr via AP

Is the ‘Big One’ coming? Earthquake mania grips Philippines as fears mount

Locals look for items in a collapsed house in Manay, in the province of Davao Oriental on October 11, after two powerful quakes struck off the southern Philippines on October 10. Photo: AFP

Patients and their family members stay outside a hospital at the earthquake-hit Manay town, Davao Oriental province, southern Philippines, on October 11. Photo: AP

Business establishments that were damaged due to a recent strong earthquake lie at the Bogo city pier, Cebu province, Central Philippines on October 3. Photo: AP

Residents stay outside their homes for fear of aftershocks at earthquake-hit Bogo city, Cebu province, central Philippines on October 3. Photo: AP

Authorities inspect a damaged wall and a car outside a mall in Butuan City, on the southern island of Mindanao on October 10, after a 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck off the southern Philippines. Photo: AFP via Getty Images/TNS

This Week in Asia

People

Health & Environment

The elderly woman was seen clinging to a table as relatives fled the magnitude 7.8 earthquake that struck Mindanao on June 8


The elderly woman was seen clinging to a table as relatives fled the magnitude 7.8 earthquake that struck Mindanao on June 8.


Earthquakes

Natural disasters

Filipino family says ‘sorry, grandma’ after woman left inside shaking quake-hit home

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The elderly woman was seen clinging to a table as relatives fled the magnitude 7.8 earthquake that struck Mindanao on June 8

The elderly woman was seen clinging to a table as relatives fled the magnitude 7.8 earthquake that struck Mindanao on June 8