BAGUIO CITY– The Baguio City government commemorated the 30th anniversary of the 1990 Luzon earthquake that killed more than 2,000 people and caused billions of pesos worth of property and infrastructure damage.

Highlighting the commemoration is the public showing of “Writing thirty,” a film of grief and hopes as well as the spirit of resiliency of survivors at the Multipurpose Hall of the Baguio City Hall at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m.

Thirty years ago on 16 July, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake shook the city and the rest of Luzon at 4:26 p.m. for about 45 seconds. The epicenter was near the town of Rizal in Nueva Ecija. The quake devastated Baguio, Cabanatuan City also in Nueva Ecija and Dagupan City in Pangasinan.

A total 2,412 lives perished from rockslides, landslides, the collapse of buildings and other structures. Thousands other victims were left homeless. Electricity and water supply were cut off for months and major roads were severely damaged forcing people to reach the city on foot to find their families and friends.

Food were scarce and many people lost their livelihood amid the destruction. Baguio City was isolated and food aids were delivered by C-130 plane at the Loakan Airport days after the tremor.

Three decades after the violent event, people still remember the horrible scenes and victims wailing. Film maker and famous local artist Angelo Aurelio was commissioned to make a documentary interview of 30 artists and journalists and other individuals to share their experiences and insight on the killer quake.