earthquake.
The Radisson Hotel before and after the earthquake.I was getting ready in my bedroom yesterday when our house began to rumble. At first, I thought nothing of it. Our neighborhood is undergoing construction and in order to level the ground the construction companies use dynamite to blast out the rock (thus, constant rumbling). But, after about 5 seconds, the shaking grew more intense, the power went out, and I knew we were experiencing an earthquake. I ran downstairs, scooped up Wesley, and headed for the nearest door jam. The earthquake lasted for about a minute and registered 7.7 on the Richter Scale. To put this into perspective, the San Francisco Bay area earthquake that occurred during the 1989 World Series registered 6.9 and caused buildings to crumble and freeways to collapse.
Experts are saying that the dense rock here in Antofagasta reduced the affects of the earthquake (the wise man built his house upon the rock... and the house on the rock stood still). To my knowledge, in our city, only the airport tarmac and the Radisson Hotel suffered considerable damages and there were no deaths.
We feel extremely blessed as our family was safe and our house was undisturbed. Our hearts and prayers are with those who lost loved ones and homes in the neighboring city of Tocopilla.
10 comments:
Wow! I hope those people had car insurance! :) By the way, do you have earthquake insurance? I'm glad you are safe. It would be fun to hear that story from Carly's perspective at school. Something she'll probably always remember.
so scary! i've never experienced an earthquake before, it sounds terrifying. was wesley freaking out?
Emily,
Wesley was sitting in a bean bag watching a TV show when the earthquake happened. I'm not sure he was confused about why the TV suddenly shut off or why the room was shaking, but the puzzled look on his face was priceless! Other than that, he didn't get upset--Carly was really the most frightened by it.
oh my - i was in that 6.9 and a 5.2 last month - but 7.7 is pretty big. how far away was the epicenter? i am glad you guys are ok!
Angie,
The epicenter was 110 miles away from us in Antofagasta, but only 25 miles away from Tocopilla--that city has suffered the most.
I am sooooo glad that all of you are all right! Did Ammon tell you that he and Austin actually SLEPT through a few earthquakes? Maybe that will make Carly laugh...that her Daddy can even sleep when the earth is moving.
Give the kiddles an extra hug and kiss from their Nana...
Im glad youre ok too, how scary. Im glad that the city was barely damaged, and hopefully no pictures or anything were damaged. Ashlyn wants to send Carly some mail, youll have to give us your address, (maybe you already did, but youll have to send it again!)
I'm glad you guys are all right. I've never experienced an earthquake before. I bet it's scary.
Thank you for sending the updates about the earthquake. Mike got the email from Ammon as well. We're so glad you're all ok. Your adventure is really getting off to a great start isn't it? Good Luck and keep the blogs coming. :) Hugs, A
I am so glad you guys are OK! Of course Dustin didn't say anything to me, so I had no idea until just today. I had him come out to see and he goes, "Yeah, I know. Ammon told me." :P Thanks honey.
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