EARTHQUAKE!

Monday, 16 October 2006

When the hospital bed started shaking, Dad said, since he couldn't move, he might as well "go for the ride". Then, he and my stepmom noticed the water in the humidifier moving when his Bi-Pap machine turned off. Yes, so after a 6.6 earthquake yesterday (the walls and the house were shaking so violently that it was the scariest quake I've ever been in..especially since my house is on stilts on the side of a mountain!), and with the electricity going out about 5 minutes later, it made for an interesting, wet, gray day.

After we checked the structure of the house, my boyfriend Chris and I went to his parents house to find some food. We ate cold leftover Thai food from the night before (yum!)....We also checked on my Dad, and helped my stepmom watch him so she could pick up my stepsister, but we had to do some creative transferring with my dad since none of his things (ie. hospital bed, recliner chair, and BiPap breathing machine) were working (as they need to be plugged in...).

We lit propane lamps and candles, and for a short while ran an extension cord across the street to a neighbor's house who had a generator. They tried to open cans of tuna (but without the electric can opener), it proved more difficult than anything. Their electricity soon came on, but then, Chris and I headed to his parents' for dinner. Still no electricity there. They were slowly getting electricity back to neighborhoods throughout the island, from west to east, Leeward to Koko Head. I think the mountains got electricity last. It was like a ghost town, with no street lights, hardly any cars around, and people holed up in their homes all day.

We ended up using our teamwork to make up a fabulous meal of pasta, salad and french bread, on a two burner propane gas stove outside on the lanai, and then we ate in the darkness with candlelight (such ambience!). We left with lanterns and flashlights (after we tried to clean up, but with no hot water,we gave up) and Chris got me home to my dark house down 85 stairs safely. Took an ice cold shower in the dark and went to bed. The nice beep of the cell phone charger and DVD player turning on signaled electricity was back at my house at about 11:30 pm last night.

Amidst the gloomy Seattle-like weather, the sirens going off all day long, the long lines at the few gas stations that were open, and the hours of boredom (but it led to good conversations, perusing old photo albums of trips from the past, and my friends peeling peanuts to grind them and make peanut butter, with poker game soon after), it made for an interesting day and a good story to tell afterwards. All schools are open today as usual (except for my high school Kamehameha). Kids are already outside telling how they had to take cold showers yesterday, how scared they were, and one of my kindergartners had difficulty leaving her mom until I came to get her and bring her to class.

Of course it's all over the news and radio. Some debate about how efficient they were in communicating with the public that the power would be restored last night. Others shared their stories of trying to find food all day and all night, being creative with resources they had. The Big Island has the most damage. Even though the governor declared it a disaster area, there is not much structural damage on O'ahu. Here on O'ahu, the Cold Stone Creamery gave away free ice cream yesterday as it was melting away, and most people stayed home all day. Traffic lights were still out this morning, and traffic was heavy again for the beginning of the work week. But, at least this earthquake took place on a Sunday. It would have been mayhem otherwise.

We were all hooked up to the battery operated radios and the one station (KSSK) that was broadcasting the news. I actually heard more information from relatives who called and could relay what they were hearing on CNN. Unfortunately, we never saw that coverage. (=

Well, thanks for keeping me and my family in your thoughts. It's back to the grind. I've got my overripe bananas and Trader Joe's dried fruit for breakfast this morning, since that was the only thing in the house that was good to eat.

Thanks to those that tried to call yesterday (Even one of my parents in Thailand wrote me an email to see how me and the family were doing!). I heard the circuits were quite busy. We're all safe and good. Just have to throw out the bad food in the fridge and probably do a second check to make sure my house is still structurally sound.