i was a 10-year-old student at a catholic school. that day, as we were saying our prayers, the earth shook. we looked at each other and wondered what to do. our teacher kept her eyes closed and made the motion to start praying the rosary. we tried to hold on to the chairs in front of us to prevent us from falling.
outside our classroom was commotion. we were on the ground floor, facing the basketball court, and everyone was screaming and running towards that open space. at this point, we were still wondering why our teacher havent given us the signal to run for safety. i was tempted to run but my feet stayed where it was.
the ground shook for what felt like eternity. and then, just like that, it stopped. i sat down on my seat, a bit dizzy. some of my classmates poured out of the classroom, crying. everyone looked for their friends, checking if body parts are still present. school officials ran around the school, checking for damages on the structures.
when i got home, i learned that we just had a 7.8 magnitude earthquake and the epicenter was in central luzon. among the hardest hit was baguio city, the summer capital of the philippines. people went there on holidays and for honeymoons. the earthquake was so great that hotels crumbled to the ground.
everyone had a story that day. stories of death and survival invaded the media. how people were rescued alive almost two weeks under the rubble, with no food nor water, from the time of the earthquake. how the miners were first on the scene and started digging with their bare hands to save those buried under the rubble.to this day, their stories still fascinate me. they are a testament to the human spirit that never gives up. i was 10 years old that day, but i will never forget.
what is your earthquake story?
photo of the hyatt hotel in baguio city courtesy of google
My earthquake story is this. Every time we have a tremor here in Ohio or out in California where I would visit, I would be the opposite place, in a car, or just plain not feel it. I have never felt the ground shake. My parents felt one while they sat on the front cement porch of their house. Mom said she turned around to see who was shaking it. But me? No, I never have felt them.
ReplyDeleteMy Navy Daughter went to Haiti after their terrible one earlier this year. So she saw first hand what you have seen.
Great post! Very vivid description. I have never been in an earthquake that large, and hope to never be. The biggest for me was the Northridge quake, which hit in January 1994. It was a 6.7. It made my life inconvenient for a few months (freeway near me collapsed, parking structures at the mall and by my doctor's office collapsed), but that was the worst of it. Other than the few terrifying seconds during the earthquake.
ReplyDeletei was in the san francisco/bay area 7.1 earthquake in 1989! it was pretty scary!
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness. That was a scary earthquake for sure.
ReplyDeletecoincidence one might say, but on july 16, 2010, here in DC, we had a 3.5 earthquake. i was so scared because baguio memories came rushing back. the quake woke me up in the morning.
ReplyDeleteI live in Pennsylvania and we've never had an earthquake. That must have been so terrifying!
ReplyDeleteWOw. This is powerfully written. I would never forget something like this, either.
ReplyDeleteWow. I don't have a story like yours. I am so glad you were safe from falling buildings.
ReplyDeleteI recently just felt my first earthquake.
http://justwannabeabloggy.blogspot.com/2010/07/earthquake.html
Wow, that is scary! Why DID the teacher keep you in? How odd!
ReplyDeleteThanks for dropping by!
hahaha! i remember i thought the girl who sat behind me was kicking my seat. when i turned to her, she was pale as a sheet.
ReplyDeletemy fave earthquake story though is in tokyo. first time i got here i was in an international students dorm. during my first week there was an earthquake. i ran out into the hall in my pajamas, ready to run down the stairs, but no one else came out. i hadn't realized that the ground shakes almost every day over here. hehehe ;-)