My very first earthquake
It’s gettin’ real.
We were eating breakfast on the roof of my seven story hotel in Mandalay, my friends from Holland and I, when my tea cup started rattling on its saucer. The tea was spilling over the rim of the cup, and I wasn’t touching it. I looked at it curiously, at first, but then we felt it.
“What’s that?” my friend said, looking at us with a slight expression of panic coming across his brow.
The chandelier next to our table started swaying, and then came crashing down. The building was swaying, the lights flickering. The tables were moving, and cups were shimmying off the table and crashing to the floor. Oh my God, what’s happening. Is this an Earthquake? With not another word, the three of us, and the rest of the people up top floor, flooded the staircase. I grabbed the arm of Zeita, an elderly Austrian woman who I have become quite fond of over the last couple days. I led her down the stairs, her husband just ahead of her.
“Oh my got!” she kept shouting as we made our way down the seven flights. “My hroom! It isn’t lahckt! I left ze key on ze table!”
“It’s OK, Zeita. We just have to get out.” I said, trying to reassure her, my voice trembling. The stairs underneath us were moving! Everyone was running, just like you aren’t supposed to when you’re evacuating a building. In a fire, you’re supposed to forget your stuff, and get out; slowly, and calmly. I figured the same logic applied here. Maybe Pavlo would scold me for leaving my valuables in my room. Whatever. I was shaking. Trying to stay calm, for the sake of Zeita, who I thought really might have a heart attack. Her face was white.
I didn’t quite realize until we were outside how my legs were swaying just like the building. The ground was still shaking, and on the street, cars were moving back and forth. My heart was racing. Oh my God, this is really scary. Amazing. I haven’t been truly terrified in a long time.
My first-ever earthquake.
When it was over, I went back into the building to get my money, in case there was another quake and the building collapsed, I wanted to have a way to get out of this town. There wasn’t any damage to the building besides minor damage on the top floor. To be fair, the chandelier was attached sketchily to begin with, so it’s no surprise a quake knocked it down; but the dramatic effect was epic. I sat on the street for a good 45 minutes, with a bunch of other tourists and locals, as my nerves cooled. Maybe I won’t go swimming on the roof of the five-star today…
**Update: Apparently, this is the first earthquake to hit Myanmar in 30 years, and it was rated 6.8**
The building where I was was the most dramatically affected, according to the locals who watched it sway from the streets. Crazy. Lucky. Happy it’s over.
