by: Olag Zelasnog
December 27 was headline news the world over, that the quake that caused the tsunami demolished the nations around the periphery of the Indian Ocean. Not to mention the lost of life and severity of its economic impact, Aceh province in the island of Sumatra in Indonesia just 90 miles from the epicenter received a double dose of destruction. In the resort islands of Phuket and Phi-phi in Thailand, almost everything standing was swamped by the on rushing waves with tremendous velocity. And Sri Lanka, an island nation south of India, were turned into fields of debris and devastations.
But long forgotten and unknown to most of us, 349 years ago on the same date, 27 December 1735; similar catastrophic event occurred in the town of Baler. It was in the early morning around 2:30 AM that the town was engulfed by tsunami* or better known to the early years of the Spanish Missionaries as 'tromba marina' with tremendous proportion without no warning, that within an hour the town was gone. Fray Jose de San Rafael, the missionary of Casiguran who was on vacation in Baler and few accounted families** survived the deluge by swimming to the near by hill of Point Baja (Ermita). On his descriptive account of the destruction: “I was awakened by the Sacristan and informed me that the convent was moving, I rushed to the window to find out, and was shaken of what I had witnessed. The convent was being carried by the rushing sea When tide receded, there was no sign of civilization remains except the barren ground littered with scattered dead bodies and houses sheared clean by the on rushing waves with the exception of a few settlement further inland.”
The tsunami that struck Baler differs at present day tsunami, that in 1735, the only impacted area was mysteriously the town of Baler. Mission de San Miguel (Dipaculao, circa 1719) northwest of Baler did not experience the horrendous calamity, nonetheless, situated on the same shoreline. In Casiguran, ninety kilometers north of Baler did not even learn about destruction until sometimes later.
It was not long however, that a new Baler was built under the leadership of the parish priest with the help of the surviving families situated in an area belonging to Sitio Sabali and located a league away from the obliterated town.
What was significant about the present day disasters, it happened on the same date the old town Baler was so mysterious vanished from the map. Is that not weird? I come to think if it!
Notes:
* Tsunami is a series of large waves usually generated by a violent undersea earthquakes. The word tsunami (pronounced tsoo-na'-mee) is composed of the Japanese words "tsu" (which means harbor) and "nami"(which means "wave")
** Based upon the story of Mang Alejandro P. Ferreras in 1935; some of the tidal waves surviving families were: the Angara, Bihasa, Bitong, Carrasco, Lumasac and Poblete.
*** The story was taken from; Fray Felix de Huerta, O.F.M.: Estado geografico, topografico, estadistico, historico, religioso de la Santa y Apostolico Provincia de San Gregorio Magno "Baler, Distrito del Principe" 1855, Manila, pp 279-282
for more Olag Stories, go to www.olagstories.batangbaler.net
1 comment:
Interesting story....
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