my first earthquake

Thursday, January 8, 2009

Immediately after lunch yesterday, confusion simultaneously struck all of the foreigners in the classroom while our teacher (who knew immediately what was happening from experience) skipped right over confusion to FEAR. After today, I can tell you one thing for certain: earthquakes are scary. My stomach dropped to my toes. It was less a fear in the mind, and more in the body. My body was very confused as the ground beneath it shook unnaturally like a corridor in a fun house. Your instinct is to grab a chair for support, but the chairs are shaking, too, as are the walls. We all stood up and waited for some kind of instruction. Jackie told us to follow her, and suddenly the whole school was out in the courtyard.

When we got back to the classroom, Jackie's mother had called her cell phone, knowing that Jackie is severely afraid of earthquakes. I'm not sure yet if the earthquake was felt 7 hours south of here, or if it was just broadcast on the news instantaneously. But, news does travel fast, and after school my cousin skyped me to ask me if all was good at the school since he had heard about the earthquake on the news. My host dad has a son in Spain, and he called the house minutes after the temblor, apparently.

Two little girls died as a result of the earthquake, and many people were not able to return to their homes, just west and north of where I live (closer to the center of the earthquake). The earthquake couldn't have been more than 2 minutes long, and the damage that was done was really severe in some places.

Here's a table describing earthquake strength courtesty of mistupid.com. Our's was a 6.2.

Richter Magnitude	Mercalli Intensity	Description
2	I	Usually not felt, but detected by instruments.
	II	Felt by very few people.
3	III	Felt by many, often mistaken for a passing vehicle.
	IV	Felt by many indoors, dishes and doors disturbed.
4	V	Felt by nearly everyone. People awakened. Cracked walls, trees disturbed.
5	VI	Felt by all. Many run outdoors. Furniture moves. Slight damage occurs.
	VII	Everyone runs outdoors. Poorly built buildings suffer severe damage. Slight damage every where else.
6	VIII	Everyone runs outdoors. Moderate to major damage. Minor damage to specially designed buildings. Chimneys and walls collapse.
7	IX	All buildings suffer major damage. Ground cracks, pipes break, foundations shift.
	X	Major damage. Structures destroyed. Ground is badly cracked. Landslides occur.
8	XI	Almost all structures fall. Bridges wrecked. Very wide cracks in ground.
	XII	Total destruction. Ground surface waves seen. Objects thrown into the air. All construction destroyed.

Here are some articles about the earthquake:

http://www.costaricapages.com/blog/travel/san-jose-earthquak/1787

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7819094.stm