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AN
alarming text message “predicting” a 6.8-magnitude
earthquake swept through the country as receivers
forwarded the warning to relatives and friends.
The
message advised people to be calm and requested them to
pass the alarm, saying, “There’s no harm in being
prepared.”
The
seeming authenticity of the message coupled with
people’s natural tendency to ensure their safety and of
their loved ones speeded the warning through wireless
telephony to quickly cover a very wide area.
It was
all a hoax, but the words “Hawaii State Emergency
Preparedness Office,” quoting a so-called US Geological
Society, lent the message a patina of genuineness.
The text
message even reached the Philippine Institute of
Volcanology and Seismology, whose phones got numerous
calls asking about the warning, prompting the agency to
issue an official statement declaring the text message a
hoax.
One
variation of the text message says: “FYI—ingat!
Note:
US
Geological Society predicts a 6.8 magnitude earthquake
will hit Philippine plates tonight. Pls be calm and
alert. This text msg is from Hawaii state emergency
preparedness office. Pls pass (no harm in being
prepared) lets pray dis will not happen.”
Sought
for comment, PhiVolcs director Renato Solidum said,
“That’s baloney. No organization has the technical
capability to accurately predict when or where an
earthquake will happen.” He added the alleged US
Geological Society—the supposed source—doesn’t exist.
There
is, however, a real government organization, the US
Geological Survey, but he said this office does not make
such predictions.
Solidum
said the text message started circulating after the 7.9
magnitude earthquake hit China. |
