Chile Quake

A crash woke me up.

It was the middle of the night, and in the darkness everything around me was moving.

An earthquake.

I got up and tried to think of what to do. The floor shifted and jerked beneath me like a plane experiencing turbulence, and the air was filled with the noise of windows and cabinets rattling. I checked my cell phone: it was about 3:30 a.m.

Was it safer to take cover inside, or escape outside? I had no idea.

I figured I’d take my chances and try to enjoy the experience. I went out on the balcony to watch the event unfold.

Outside was cacophonous. In all directions came the sound of objects shaking loose and crashing to the ground. From the stories above me, people were shouting to each other.

In the nighttime city light, I could see tree branches swaying violently. The pool below my balcony was rippling like the glass of water in Jurassic Park. As the tremors increased, I watched the water form waves and begin jumping out of the sides of the pool.

Then the streetlights began to flicker. Buildings went dark in quick succession as the power went out. A moment later, I stared out at a darkened, moonlit cityscape, listening to the crashes and rumblings all around me.

In that moment, I thought of my friends in Haiti.

Then, almost as quickly as it had begun, it stopped. I think every car alarm in ear-shot was going off.

I went back inside and found my flashlight. The crash that had awakened me was the sound of a potted plant falling to the floor. That pot was the only thing in my apartment that got broken.

The first thing I did was to sweep up the mess. Compulsive neatness dies hard.

After a few minutes there was a knock at my door. My boss, who lives across the street, had come to check on me. I followed him outside where the street was full of people who had exited their apartment buildings during the quake.

We joined our friends outside their building. From his blackberry, my boss found out that the epicenter of the quake was in the city of Concepcion. It was an 8.8 magnitude quake – bigger than Haiti’s.

Once we realized that everyone was ok, we all made our way back to our homes.

The next morning, as soon as our electricity was back on, I updated my Facebook page to let everyone back home know I was safe.