Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, January 28, 1995 TAG: 9501300019
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE:
DATELINE: NEAR KOBE, JAPAN LENGTH: Medium
Are we "still quaking?" Well, the earth is relatively quiet now, but we remain really nervous, so you might say that WE are still quaking.
Fortunately, the earthquake was not as strong here as it was in Kobe. In fact, the epicenter was about the same distance from us, but we were spared the type of movement that causes structural damage... there is no visible damage in our area.
However, our stomachs remain tied in knots and the slightest movement or noise sends us over the edge. The worst thing, mentally, about the quake is there is no way to anticipate or prepare for it. Your mind and body cannot control the situation in any way. I think that because your mind hates to be in that situation, it makes a subconscious effort to "sense" the next earthquake before it happens, hence, the extreme reaction to any movement or noise.
Janet rolling over in bed or the phone ringing are enough to set off a nervous reaction that makes me want to throw up. Janet is in the same state, although I suspect to an even greater extent. She has always had a more acute fear of danger than I. Sarah could care less, and goes on without any signs of concern. We try not to let our concern affect her.
As much for myself as for you, I'll try to recollect the quake and the few hours thereafter.
It began at 5:46 a.m. while we slept. Janet and I both sat up in bed, and I paused for a second to wake up and take in the situation. I guess we both expected it would stop very quickly. When it didn't, Janet began to panic and scream. I remember grabbing her and holding her long enough for her to get her wits about her. Both of us were, of course, terribly concerned about Sarah. Janet shouted "get Sarah" as the quake was reaching maximum intensity.
The noise was constant and loud ... vibrations, creaking and cracking noises. These constant noises were disturbed several times by large "bangs" like the impact of something solid on the side of the house. As I ran across the apartment to get Sarah, I was upended by a sudden movement and fell sideways onto my knees and hands. I scrambled the rest of the way to Sarah's room.
I was frantic when I didn't see her lying on her pillow. She was just scooted down the bed under the sheets a bit. I grabbed her, only to find her sound asleep. ... I stumbled out into the hallway.
I looked across the room to see Janet standing in the doorway to our room, holding onto the walls. "You are supposed to stand in the doorway, right?"
The movement continued for another few (one, 10, 200, 10,000) seconds while I thought "OK, now what?" Fortunately, the movement stopped and we were able to get back together as a family.
Sarah was still a sleep. We kept her in bed with us and lay there awake for the next couple of hours while the aftershocks (some of them fairly severe) came rolling in. Before I went back to bed, I looked around the apartment a bit. I was relieved to see no damage, continuing electrical and gas and phone service and no fires in the vicinity. After I lay down, someone shined a bright spotlight over the apartment, evidently inspecting for damage. Janet and I wanted to talk about it, but Sarah kept shushing us to be quiet so she could sleep.
A bit later, Janet and Sarah got up. When a relatively strong aftershock hit, Sarah said, "what was that?" I said that sometimes the earth moves a bit and that makes the house move. She said, "Kind of scary, isn't it?" I said it was and she got back to eating.
Are we OK? I'll tell you for sure in a few days or weeks.
Are we feeling fortunate? Yes.
Is the natural world a difficult thing to accept? Sometimes, but I guess that we have no choice but to accept the world for what it is. Human behavior we can hope to change; our natural environment we cannot predict or control, at least not indefinitely.
by CNB