Earthquakes have sounds!
This is my biggest earthquake in Japan so far! Was eating my breakfast when the ground jolted suddenly and violently (at 10.13am). Continued eating cos I was, erm, used to it by now. Looked at the TV swaying and hoped that it wouldn't crash onto the floor. About 5 secs passed, then for the first time in my life, I felt the ground heave up and down in addition to the sideways movement. THEN, I stopped eating and started to worry. The entire earthquake lasted around 15 secs...I bet it seems short to you, but it feels like an eternity when the ground is shaking up, down, left, right and you have no idea if the shaking will get any stronger or when it will stop.
The epicentre was less than 100km away from my town. The magnitude of the quake was 6.8 and according to news, my area experienced it at about a magnitude of 6. No damage on my side. I received calls from the Singapore Embassy and the Niigata Board of Education to check if I was ok.
Actually, I was not as scared during the earthquake as I expected myself to be. You know what's more scary? The aftershocks. We've had about 70 so far and counting. Most of the aftershocks are too mild to be felt - you realise there's one when you see something swaying. Many are gentle vibrations - but these can get me worried because from my experience, some earthquakes are preceded by gentle vibrations that grow stronger. Some aftershocks are strong enough to feel like a small earthquake and there was one this afternoon that was as strong as 5. I don't think I'm completely freaked out, but I do find myself rushing when I need to go to the toilet or when I'm changing clothes because I don't know when the next aftershock is and how strong it will be. It is the tension of anticpating the next aftershock that is more scary than the actual earthquake.
Yes, earthquake has a sound. I can't explain it is like. I've noticed it with some of the stronger earthquakes in the past and wondered if it was from the earthquake or just the sound of the building shaking. With this one, because it was stronger and lasted longer, I can say with certainty that there is a distinct earthquake sound. The sound was rather loud this time, and it stopped when the jolting became just a gentle rocking motion but the creaking of the building continued until the building eventually stopped swaying.
This is my biggest earthquake in Japan so far! Was eating my breakfast when the ground jolted suddenly and violently (at 10.13am). Continued eating cos I was, erm, used to it by now. Looked at the TV swaying and hoped that it wouldn't crash onto the floor. About 5 secs passed, then for the first time in my life, I felt the ground heave up and down in addition to the sideways movement. THEN, I stopped eating and started to worry. The entire earthquake lasted around 15 secs...I bet it seems short to you, but it feels like an eternity when the ground is shaking up, down, left, right and you have no idea if the shaking will get any stronger or when it will stop.
The epicentre was less than 100km away from my town. The magnitude of the quake was 6.8 and according to news, my area experienced it at about a magnitude of 6. No damage on my side. I received calls from the Singapore Embassy and the Niigata Board of Education to check if I was ok.
Actually, I was not as scared during the earthquake as I expected myself to be. You know what's more scary? The aftershocks. We've had about 70 so far and counting. Most of the aftershocks are too mild to be felt - you realise there's one when you see something swaying. Many are gentle vibrations - but these can get me worried because from my experience, some earthquakes are preceded by gentle vibrations that grow stronger. Some aftershocks are strong enough to feel like a small earthquake and there was one this afternoon that was as strong as 5. I don't think I'm completely freaked out, but I do find myself rushing when I need to go to the toilet or when I'm changing clothes because I don't know when the next aftershock is and how strong it will be. It is the tension of anticpating the next aftershock that is more scary than the actual earthquake.
posted by Cindy @ Japan @ 10:49 PM
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