Earthquakes are not a frequent occurrence at home in North Carolina. Every few years, we might hear about a barely perceptible earthquake in the American south, and once I felt one in Raleigh in 2011, reported to be strongest earthquake in Raleigh since Columbus arrived. Based on my quick research this morning, looks like earthquakes are a relatively common experience in Chile. Good to know.
Last night while laying in bed, we felt the tremblings of an earthquake. It only lasted about ten seconds. The bed shook, the house creaked, and the light fixtures in the house and the power lines along the street swayed. We realized what was happening just before it ended, and for a few seconds it was somewhat terrifying as we watched our bedroom door swing open.
Jane slept through it. Wilson thought someone was trying to get into his room, shaking his door. He got up to open it during the rumblings. When I asked him what happened when it was over, he concluded it had been an earthquake.
Katie and I did some research before bed, figuring out what our earthquake emergency plan would be, mainly where to take cover if we’re in the house, in a park, or in a building. The plan was not something we had on our checklist for preparedness of living in Chile, but now we have one and hopefully won’t need it.
Update 10/21/22: Earthquakes are not infrequent. We’ve been woken up in the night several times by small earthquakes or felt the subtle shudders in the day.
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