Well folks, I can now add another natural disaster to the list of things I’ve survived in my life, which currently includes:
1. Tornadoes
2. Blizzards
3. Golf-ball-sized hail storms (hurts the car every time)
4. Typhoons/Hurricanes
5. Near-volcanic eruptions
6. EARTHQUAKES
Yes, that’s right. I lived through my first earthquake. It was a crazy little thing. Shook the floor for about 30 seconds. I later learned that it was a 6.2 on the Richter scale – WHOA, huh? It sounds worst than it felt. In fact, I thought it was all kind of exciting. Here’s how it played out:
It was roughly 1:30 in the afternoon and I had just arrived at the 6th floor of Carewell, where I volunteer with the Cancer patients. I was saying my hellos when all the lovely ladies started praying loudly and clutching their chairs. I didn’t realize it was an earthquake at first, just thought there was some construction nearby, so I jumped right into the prayers in an attempt to “fit in”.
10-15 seconds in I heard the word Earthquake and everything clicked. What was funny was that I had no “flight or flight” response programmed for earthquakes. So I just found myself standing there smiling, a bit in awe. I even screamed a bit for fun just to feel a part of the chaos!
Now, in retrospect, I realize that this was NOT appropriate behavior. I should have been getting in a doorway (I think) or going to the roof (so as not to be crushed by the collapsing building). Did I do any of that? NOPE. I danced around like a 6 year old instead.
Note to self: don’t zone out in the future at Emergency Disaster Preparedness Training! Happily, I lived to tell the tale and I can now say that I survived a 6+ earthquake!
Can someone please walk me through an Earthquake drill, because all I’m programmed to do, I realize, is:
-go to the basement
-get away from the windows
-get into a tucking position
-bring my head to my knees
Not proving to be overly effective for typhoons and earthquakes…
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