2 OFWs in Taiwan share quake experience

Two injured overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Taiwan shared their "traumatic" quake experience following the 7.4-magnitude tremor that hit the self-governing island on Wednesday morning.

In a televised interview, factory worker Jhenalyn Gurrobat, one of the four Filipinos injured during the powerful tremor, recounted her experience when the ground started to shake before 8:00 a.m.

"Pagkatama sa akin nung tiles, namanhid yung ulo ko, wala na kong naramdaman tapos nararamdaman ko yung yanig na hindi natigil super lakas (When the tiles hit me, my head went numb, I didn't feel anything and then I felt the shaking didn't stop, it was super strong)," Gurrobat said.

"Hinawakan ko yung ulo ko, pagtingin ko ang daming dugo (I held my head, I saw a lot of blood)," she added.

Gurrobat sustained head injuries from the quake but is now recuperating.

She is now staying at the workers' dormitory but will go back to the hospital again on Saturday for another checkup.

"Napupuyat na rin kami kasi laging may aftershock. Hindi na nakakatulog (We are having a hard time sleeping because there's always an aftershock. We can't sleep anymore)," she added.

Meanwhile, another hurt OFW Shiela Lapada, who bore a swollen hand, said they couldn't run when the earthquake was happening.

"Sa sobrang lakas hindi kami makatakbo kasi talagang yung katawan namin, natutumba talaga kami (Because the quake was too strong, we couldn't run, our bodies were also falling down)," she shared.

"Sa sobrang nerbyos hindi ko na alam kung saan ko naitama yung kamay ko, kung sa wall o sa pintuan (I was so nervous that I didn't know where I hit my hand, whether it was the wall or the door)," she added.

According to the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW), the tremor affected about 5,000 Filipinos in Taiwan.

There are 159,480 Filipinos in Taiwan; 150,666 of whom are OFWs.

Earlier, the DMW said it would provide P30,000 worth of assistance to each injured Filipino.

The death toll from Wednesday's 7.4-magnitude earthquake, the strongest tremor that hit Taiwan in 25 years, rose to 12, with over 1,000 people injured.