We had a wild night here in Almaty and I can now say I’ve experienced my very first earthquake! Well, technically, I slept through it—as did Nia—but, still! :)
The earthquake hit at 12:09 AM in China, just South of the Kyrgyzstan border (the epicenter was where the red circle is on the map above). At the epicenter, the earthquake measured at a 7 on the Richter scale. Thankfully, we were 160 miles from the epicenter, so what we felt was more like a 5. Here’s a helpful scale so you can understand the differences in magnitude.
We’re in a three-story townhouse, so we only experienced a bit of shaking. Friends of ours in tall apartment buildings, however, experienced something quite different, since tall buildings are engineered to sway during earthquakes, which helps absorb the shock of the seismic waves. Doesn’t that sound scary!?
It was 15 degrees Fahrenheit outside when the quake began and the Kazakhstan government advised exiting homes and apartments, which meant that many people stood out in the cold for hours waiting to be told they could go back in. We decided not to leave our house after the initial quake stopped, since we didn’t see any noticeable damage and everything felt structurally sound.
It’s very comforting being affiliated with the U.S. Government when things like this happen because I know they’ve planned for worst-case scenarios and will do everything possible to keep us safe. For example, I know our house is seismically sound. Our dining room hutch and shelves are bolted to the wall so they won’t topple on us. We also have a large backpack full of earthquake preparedness supplies that we were given in our first week here, along with instructions on how to use the contents.
Additionally, we completed a 3-day community-wide earthquake simulation drill this fall, so everyone was up to speed on where to go and what to do if an earthquake began. We knew our meeting point, have a GO-bag packed and ready, and know where there are extra stores of food, water, sleeping bags and tents if unable to get back in our houses. It’s very reassuring, especially for someone who’s never lived in an earthquake zone before.
Nick had an important role in all this too, since one of the Embassy/Consulate’s critical roles is keeping American citizens safe. So while I went back to bed, he stayed up for several hours drafting and clearing on messaging that would go out to American Citizens via social media and the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) platform. Pro Tip: Be sure and enroll in STEP each time you are traveling outside the U.S. to ensure you receive critical information in the event of an emergency.
I also want to give a big shout out to our school, the Kazakhstan International School (KIS), for handling things so well. They opened their doors for displaced families last night, communicated clearly throughout the night about what was happening, and kept school running like normal so kids had somewhere to go and process the experience while parents sorted things out. Couldn’t have been handled better in my opinion. Feeling grateful for all the people taking care of us. Be back soon with more posts.
