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Total entries in this category: 24
Published On: Mar 07, 2006 03:02 PM
Total entries in this category: 24
Published On: Mar 07, 2006 03:02 PM
Earthquake!
I've always wanted to experience an earthquake
under the right circumstances.
First, I don't want to die, nor do I want anyone
else to die. Ditto being permanently disabled. Thirdly, I don't want our
19th-century house built on former swampland in Cambridge to experience the
earthquake. Since earthquakes strike Yunnan Province several times a year,
living here would seem to offer the right
opportunity.
When we lived here in 2001, a number of earthquakes hit the province, but for various reasons, I completely failed to notice them. Last night I almost got my wish.
I was working at my desk when it suddenly seemed as if I were on a ship, not the 4th floor of an apartment building. There was a gentle but distinct rocking, as if we were sailing over mid-sized waves. I'd guess it lasted about 15 seconds, long enough for me to notice, call over to John two rooms away, think "Wow, this really is an earthquake," and then wonder if I should try to leave the building or stand in the bathroom (supposedly the safest place if you have to be indoors). What surprised me is that it didn't seem violent and with the general evening din of our housing complex, I didn't hear any rumbling.
Pi Ying called that night and I, with great excitement, mentioned the earthquake. "Yes, I think there was a small one," she agreed with total nonchalence.
But the checking the internet this morning we learned that 180 kilometers away from Kunming, an earthquake of 6.1 magnitude leveled 50 houses. Unfortunately, I didn't exactly get my wish: three people died.
When we lived here in 2001, a number of earthquakes hit the province, but for various reasons, I completely failed to notice them. Last night I almost got my wish.
I was working at my desk when it suddenly seemed as if I were on a ship, not the 4th floor of an apartment building. There was a gentle but distinct rocking, as if we were sailing over mid-sized waves. I'd guess it lasted about 15 seconds, long enough for me to notice, call over to John two rooms away, think "Wow, this really is an earthquake," and then wonder if I should try to leave the building or stand in the bathroom (supposedly the safest place if you have to be indoors). What surprised me is that it didn't seem violent and with the general evening din of our housing complex, I didn't hear any rumbling.
Pi Ying called that night and I, with great excitement, mentioned the earthquake. "Yes, I think there was a small one," she agreed with total nonchalence.
But the checking the internet this morning we learned that 180 kilometers away from Kunming, an earthquake of 6.1 magnitude leveled 50 houses. Unfortunately, I didn't exactly get my wish: three people died.
Posted: Thu - October 16, 2003 at 10:14 PM