And yet it looks so normal
The stories are pouring in of people's traumatic experiences during the earthquake. I have been glued to the TV and news watching everything unfold, hoping, like everyone else, they will find more survivors. Feeling sick at the number of still missing people and fearing that their number will contribute to the already confirmed number of dead. It horrible to think of the bodies buried in those crushed cars and under the bricks and the unexpectedness of it all after what was such a normal day. Worse knowing that we've already had a huge earthquake only 6 months before and we escape so unscathed. I know that if I do not know someone who has been killed, I will most certainly know someone who does, as this is such a small city and we always have lovingly joked that it is only 2 degrees of separation among people.
In spite of the fact that my best friend and I were in the central city when the quake struck, we had no idea about the extent of what had happened. Sitting in a small converted cafe, I dove under the table with our other work companion, having these absurd thoughts about being unable to eat any lunch and the fact that the orange juice I'd just opened spilled over my back. We evacuated out the front, the back way being filled with debris. People milled around the carpark, busy on phones trying to check with loved ones while dust filled the air. In spite of seeing the dust up the road, I no idea of the destruction that had occurred a kilometre down the road. The traffic jammed within 5 minutes of the quake and we decided we'd have to walk home. We took some smaller streets and came across a lot of damage, a lot of fallen facades of building. Looking back now, I can't help but wonder how many injured or trapped people we walked by without even realising and wondering if there wasn't something we could have done if we'd been more alert. And yet the rationale side is aware that the procedure for civilians is to evacuate to prevent more people getting in danger.
And yet today it looks so normal. I am lucky to live on a side of the city that suffered minimal damage, as it did the last time, thanks to the ground type and the distance from the epicentre of the earthquake. I look out the windows and don't see any signs of the earthquake 2 days ago. We have power, we have water, we are not permitted to flush our toilets and we have to boil all our water for 3 minutes, but still, the rubbish is being collected like all is normal. However the aftershocks continue to come, less frequently thankfully, and remind me this is not the case.
I grieve at the number of people who we will lose. I grieve for the people driven away by this and the struggles half the city is trying to manage through. I grieve for the massive destruction of our central city and wonder how our little city will survive it, though our prime minister has promised the country's support. He offered pretty words of rhetoric yesterday, repeated numerous times over the news. But from a practical standpoint, knowing that barely 6 months from the last earthquake, repairs were still taking place, that new construction hadn't begun, it doesn't seem likely that much can be completed to help our small businesses survive.
I wish they wouldn't tell us when they try an operation to save someone. Hope and disappointment goes hand and hand here. So many times have they said they've found someone alive and try to get to them, only to say its a false report or they couldn't find anyone. I wish they would only tell us next time, when they do find someone alive and then I don't have to lose that jubilation.
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22/2/11 EarthquakeI took some photos on our walk home, though I felt awkward and horrible about doing so. You feel like a vulture, but you also feel compelled to record it.
In spite of the fact that my best friend and I were in the central city when the quake struck, we had no idea about the extent of what had happened. Sitting in a small converted cafe, I dove under the table with our other work companion, having these absurd thoughts about being unable to eat any lunch and the fact that the orange juice I'd just opened spilled over my back. We evacuated out the front, the back way being filled with debris. People milled around the carpark, busy on phones trying to check with loved ones while dust filled the air. In spite of seeing the dust up the road, I no idea of the destruction that had occurred a kilometre down the road. The traffic jammed within 5 minutes of the quake and we decided we'd have to walk home. We took some smaller streets and came across a lot of damage, a lot of fallen facades of building. Looking back now, I can't help but wonder how many injured or trapped people we walked by without even realising and wondering if there wasn't something we could have done if we'd been more alert. And yet the rationale side is aware that the procedure for civilians is to evacuate to prevent more people getting in danger.
And yet today it looks so normal. I am lucky to live on a side of the city that suffered minimal damage, as it did the last time, thanks to the ground type and the distance from the epicentre of the earthquake. I look out the windows and don't see any signs of the earthquake 2 days ago. We have power, we have water, we are not permitted to flush our toilets and we have to boil all our water for 3 minutes, but still, the rubbish is being collected like all is normal. However the aftershocks continue to come, less frequently thankfully, and remind me this is not the case.
I grieve at the number of people who we will lose. I grieve for the people driven away by this and the struggles half the city is trying to manage through. I grieve for the massive destruction of our central city and wonder how our little city will survive it, though our prime minister has promised the country's support. He offered pretty words of rhetoric yesterday, repeated numerous times over the news. But from a practical standpoint, knowing that barely 6 months from the last earthquake, repairs were still taking place, that new construction hadn't begun, it doesn't seem likely that much can be completed to help our small businesses survive.
I wish they wouldn't tell us when they try an operation to save someone. Hope and disappointment goes hand and hand here. So many times have they said they've found someone alive and try to get to them, only to say its a false report or they couldn't find anyone. I wish they would only tell us next time, when they do find someone alive and then I don't have to lose that jubilation.
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22/2/11 EarthquakeI took some photos on our walk home, though I felt awkward and horrible about doing so. You feel like a vulture, but you also feel compelled to record it.