The night the 'guria' struck

Having lived in Japan for almost six years, I thought I have become accustomed to earthquakes (‘guria’ in Pidgin). I remember it used to terrorize me during the initial years of my stay but later on I treated it as a normal part of everyday life in Japan, which I think is the most earthquake-prone country in the world. In fact towards the end of my stay I could even sleep it off like it was just a pesky mozzie or something. But last week, here in Lae, PNG, was another story.

Around 6:58 pm, while watching Today Tonight over Channel 7 Australia, my house suddenly began to sway. Although a bit alarmed I tried to dismiss it as a minor tremor, after all the entire PNG land mass sits astride an earthquake belt like the rest of the countries around the so-called “Pacific Ring of Fire.” However, the swaying didn’t stop and after a few seconds the house started to rattle. Barefoot, I swung the door open and ran downstairs for as fast as I can, even missing a few flights of stairs. Feeling safe in the middle of a treeless area, the lights suddenly went out and from where I stood, under the moonlight I could see the entire house dancing and swaying for what seemed like forever. After almost a minute of shaking and rattling, an eerie silence enveloped the entire neighbourhood.

Fortunately the tremor did little or no damage to people and property and there was no danger of a tsunami though we remained without electricity for almost a day. It turns out the magnitude 6.7 earthquake’s epicentre was a mere 100 kms from where we were.

Although you can call me an earthquake “veteran,” I think what scared me enough to make me run for my life this time was the fact that I did not know what to expect. In Japan almost all structures are built to at least withstand minor earthquakes so that even skyscrapers sway like bamboo stalks on a windy day, but here I wasn’t so sure.

I went to bed feeling seasick that night and slept with the bedroom door open, with my “emergency kit” just within reach in case of a strong aftershock. In case you’re curious, the emergency kit contained a torch, house keys, my passport, work permit, ATM and Visa cards, and a change of clothes.