Oh dear ........ ( fill in your own deity here )
We are so tired of the earthquakes, we have had - #1632 - so far, other people call them "Aftershocks", but hell they feel like earthquakes to me, after all the earth is quakeing right?
WE survived !!! We are extremely thankful, our little home is still standing, our roads were ripped up and some were closed, the river at the end of the drive rose up out of its bed and tried to invade us. The road tried to swallow us.
We were woken up to a house shaking violently in a tremor that seemed to go on for ages. The jolting and shaking was like being on a merry-go-round inside the bloody washing machine. And the noise, everything cracked and jangled, rumbled and roared. It was dark, it was so violent that all i could do, was hold onto the side of the bed, to stop being thrown out onto the floor. I couldn't have got out off it even if i had tried. I decided that, HELL, it was safer to stay where i was. I grabbed my cell phone noted the time was 4:38am and was so grateful that i could use it as a light so that i could see the damage before i even moved.
Items were strewn everwhere. BUT the children were alive ! and ok ! Wonderful, Fantastic. No bleeding bodies, no broken bones.
No electricity, so no lights, no radio, no news, ____ Just how bad was everything, very scary ____
Yay, my cell phone had a radio thingy that i had never used, and we all sat in bed and tried to find a station that would tell us what the hell had happened.
Finally got one, had to drag on for ages listening to some twit twittering on about god knows what, i kept saying " we're dying here, for god's sake give us some friggin NEWS"
We had a dribble of water out of the tap on the first day, that was it, !!! - so, between picking our way thru broken glass, plates, my homemade jam and preserves ( Yes I AM an old fashioned type of girl), that had decided to kamikaze onto the floor, we filled up empty plastic fizzy drink bottles with tap water moving at a dribbles pace.
Finally dragged the gas camping stove out and boiled some water and had a nice cup of tea. Then said ok, everyone back to bed, its too dark to do anything. We were cold. I think shock had set in.
Daylight came and damage became real. OMG.
No water, No toilet, No electricity for 6 days
No water, No toilet, No electricity for 6 days
ok i need to say that again O.M.G
Now a month has gone by, with all the large 4:50mag and 5:00 + mag "aftershocks" we are ok , but
the toll on people, however, is indescribable. Everyone is exhausted, physically and mentally shattered. Nerves are frayed and the feeling of panic and dread is a constant companion. The merest rumble is enough to make us stop in our tracks, hearts racing, poised for flight. Sleep is fleeting, waking in wild-eyed heart racing panic 3 or 4 times a night to fling ourselves under the nearest door frame, wondering if this is finally the promised 6. mag something aftershock that will smash the rest of our glass and china and topple what’s left of the city’s heritage buildings. Once awake it’s impossible to get back to sleep, adrenalin keeping every fibre alert, poised ready to grab what is most precious as we escape the shuddering house again… . We make light of it to family and friends who call, concerned, from the West Coast and Australia, ( you know who you are - xxx) - offering beds in other cities, but life feels fragile and hysteria is very close to the surface. And sometimes i feel like a nervous wreck.
Many thanks for your time
