Just when you thought it was safe to go outside . . . Oh ya, an earth quake, a tsunami warning, and a tiny tsunami and then another earthquake...then another…then another. We are fine, no body hurt, just a little “shaken up.” It was no small earth quake though. The first one measured 6.7 by the earthquake site we saw, but the news said 6.9. Either way, it was nothing Californians have not felt a dozen times, but it was new to us and we didn’t like it a bit!
The biggest effect on us was having to rescue panicky folks. One family who live RIGHT on the beach were in town when it happened, and they didn’t know where their 3 sons were. So we had to dash to their house. It felt not just a little scary as we drove in the direction of the beach rather away from it as every one else was. All was well, but it was they who described the little tsumani that happened maybe 10 minutes after the quake. The ocean receded about 40 meters then came rushing back up the beach, but only just a little higher than a normal high tide.
As we were driving around answering calls and going to the members’ homes, we noticed many people standing in places where they could see the ocean--just watching it, watching for the water to recede so they could head for higher ground. As we were delivering some food to a family that had evacuated, the neighborhood we were driving through had just received a warning from police to have everyone evacuate that lives along the water. That is a lot of people. All the buses were full, and there were people lining the road with their children in tow and carrying used rice bags filled with their most important things looking for higher ground. With the memory of the typhoon still so fresh on people’s minds, the air was filled with fear as thick as a foggy evening.
The movement of the ground is like standing on an oscillating platform you would pay to stand on at a carnival except everything around you is moving too. It feels kinda like the standing on a sheet of ice with waves under the ice. A slow sickening feeling.
Many people spent the night at schools above the danger line, just to be safe. But except for the after schocks, one of which was also 6 plus, there was nothing to fear. Last we saw on the news only one fatality—a young girl crushed under a collapsed wall.
There are missionaries in all the towns along this coast where it happened. All are safe.
Sorry no pictures. We only saw a couple of damaged houses. on of the chapels north of here has a large crack. Most things look normal.
