Earthquake!

Saturday, September 4, 2010
I was woken by the roar at 4.30am. I think I was the first to wake and I know from a previous experience when we were in a hotel fire that I just jump into automatic mode.  My first thought was my baby asleep in her cot - so as I ran to her room I yelled at my husband and the kids to wake up as I went, although a couple of them were already coming out of their rooms, crying with fright.

Alice was sound asleep, but I scooped her up and we all ran down to the living rooms where we took shelter under the table and under the bench. And then it was over.

The shaking and rumbling was terrifying. I didn't realise how scared I was until it was over. My heart was racing and I was breathing like I had been running. It was pitch black outside, which didn't help, and cold.

The aftershocks were plentiful and loud. The children, and me too, were all edgy and jumpy for at least 2 hours afterwards. I started shaking when it was all over, and so we all rugged up in blankets and jerseys, just in case we had to run outside.

Then we walked through the house to survey the damage. We were very fortunate in that we only lost a few ornaments. A couple of pictures fell down. And I lost my beautiful Lladro girls that my sister gave me for my 21st birthday. I'm quite heartbroken about it really, and I hope that I'll be able to find a replacement.

All morning we've had phone calls and texts and emails from family and friends - which is so nice and appreciated. We've even heard from friends in England, North Carolina and Illinois, USA. Amazing to think it has made the news over there.
We've also had the neighbours calling in for coffee - which has been lots of fun.

We're still getting aftershocks. One of my children is quite scared and runs to huddle under the bench with pillows at every shake. In the warm sunshine and bright light of day, and chatting with the neighbours, it's hard to believe it happened, until I look at my broken things and we get the odd shake. When the aftershocks come, it feels a bit like a boat shuddering.

We are in the Waimak area which is in a state of emergency (if you're watching tv), but we are nowhere near the coast, so there is no power outage or water shortage in our rural area.

In our homeschooling we've had fire and earthquake drills before, and I've always tried to teach the kids not to be afraid, blah, blah, blah. But now I've had enough excitement. It's not really much fun, and I was afraid. But I'm awfully glad for our government rules on house building - they seem so flimsy when they're being built with the concrete slab and the miles and miles of planks of wood, but now I know why and I'm glad.

17 comments :

Leanne said...

so glad you are ok.
Must of been really scary.

I felt it up here.

Love Leanne

Anonymous said...

How scarey to be woke up that way. I live in an earthquake area but we haven't had any major quakes. They say one is overdue though.

I know its not the same, but I broke some figurines that had been given to me and I was able to glue them back together with super glue. Unless they are really looking most people don't notice the line where they were broke.

Anonymous said...

Glad that you are ok, and hope that the kids settle soon and aren't too frightened.

Thinking of you all!

C xx

Sarah - Red Gingham said...

Oh my that's so scarey! I've been watching it on the news all morning and it's just unbelieveable. Glad to hear everyone is alright but so sad about your little figurine. The kids will be very jumpy for a long time I guess, I'll be thinking of all of you going through this disaster. Hope you all get some sleep tonight as I guess you'll be quite tired by then.

A Life Less Complicated said...

Glad you are all ok

You might be able to claim insurance - I know that Lladro is reasonably expensive but I'm not sure if it's worth a claim of it's own. I hope you can find a replacement or have it repaired

Jenny said...

Thank God you are all okay! My stomach dropped earlier this afternoon when my hubby yelled out that the main headline on CNN was that a massive quake had hit NZ. Details were sketchy, then we had to go out for a few hours... have come back and am now reading all about it in the Herald! You just never know from one day to the next! Unbelievable!

Clara said...

It sounds very frightening. I've only been through a very mild quake (the epicentre was a long way away). So glad to hear you're ok, I've been looking out for a post from you.

betty-NZ said...

Glad to know you all are ok. I can't imagine being in the midst of it all!

Widge said...

I have never been so scared in all my life!
thankfully we have had no damage and no power or water cuts either. yay!! feeling pretty tired now though from being up so early

Sarah said...

Glad you're safe and hope the after shocks stop soon. Sounds absolutely terrifying. Hugs to you all x

Anonymous said...

Glad you're okay! We are all thinking of you here in the North Island. Stay safe.

call*me*kate said...

I heard about the earthquake while making dinner tonight (Oregon, USA) and I thought about you, not really knowing if you were near the quake. I know just how terrifying these things are (I grew up in California) and no matter how prepared you might be, it's just plain scary! I hope you and the kids are able to sleep o.k. I'm glad you didn't have worse damage but I'm sorry about the breakage of your special things. And why did the quake have to hit so early? Couldn't it have waited a few hours!! Anyway, I'm glad you are o.k. and will pray for you and your family. Take care!
- Kate

Cadi said...

Phew.
Glad you're okay.

Heather L. said...

Glad you are safe! I'm so sorry about the china girls -- you just mentioned them and I thought it was such a precious gift. I hope you find replacements.

Can you believe we had a little earthquake here about a year ago -- scary enough though. I remember the strange sound of almost a wind blowing and the shaking. Michael promptly bought earthquake insurance!! :)

Anonymous said...

So glad you're okay - I thought of you when they said about the earthquake on the news. Thanks for posting to let us know how you are doing.

Cat said...

I couldn't believe it when I turned the tv on yesterday morning.
From Auckland we are sending our love to you all down there.
It is so close to home - but yet so far away . . .
So glad you are all okay.
I've popped through from Vintage Mum, Modern Child

Jackie said...

couldn't believe it when I saw it on your fb - hadn't even been on the news here yet!
Praise God you are all OK and not too much damage.
Jackie
x

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