The ground shook so hard that Maricel rushed toward her sleeping children, right before their house walls were torn down. The concrete division prevented the walls to directly fall on them, which could have killed them all.

This adrenaline rush enabled her to save her five young ones when the earthquake jolted Leyte and most parts of the Visayan region.

Twenty seven-year-old Maricel was the one tending to the needs of their children while her husband was working as a laborer at the power plant near Brgy. Tongona, Ormoc City.

Though aftershocks are still prevalent and the authorities say that their place is already for abandonment, they still chose to return because they have no other place to go to.

Leyte earthquake story

Maricel with her two children in front of the rubble of their house.

Maricel’s house was built in a landslide-prone area and is only 200 meters away from the power plant that was also badly affected by the earthquake.

Their family received a solar lamp from Operation Blessing’s initial help to the Leyte earthquake-affected families.

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