The Earthquake

Even though 99% of the earthquakes I’ve experienced in my life have been in the last five days, earthquakes have always been a reality in my life. Growing up in Western Washington you are drilled from an early age on what to do when the “big one” hits. I remember this clearly in elementary school. We would have a fire drill and after lining up outside we would be returned to our classrooms. Once everyone was seated we would have an earthquake drill. Students were instructed to crouch under their desks, cover their neck with one arm and hold the closest table leg with the other. The teacher would then go around the room and adjust everyone’s earthquake posture. We would giggle like hell and eventually the excruciating three minutes would be over and we were allowed to crawl out from under our desks. This happened at least twice a year.

Before 2001 I was never put in a position to seriously use my earthquake training. I remember a small tremor scaring me under the table once, and my mom just laughed at me. On February 28th 2001 that changed. A 6.8 magnitude earthquake (epicenter outside of Olympia) hit Seattle while I was in history class. The class had a bit of a mixed reaction, but after the teacher started swearing at the students, everyone was under a desk holding a table leg. I remember thinking the shaking would never end and that it felt like the whole building was on wheels being slid back and forth. After about 45 seconds the quake passed and we evacuated the building.

Ten years later, here I am living in a disaster zone. Friday, March 11 was a really pleasant day. My schedule was: prep, class I teach alone for two periods, lunch, 9/10 English/History, 11/12 English/History. The kids had been really calm that day and I think everyone was in an ok mood. I was in the computer lab next to the library reading a book because the 11th and 12th graders were working independently. Their regular teacher was helping them, so as a TA I was just there as an extra set of hands.

We had a series of earthquakes in the previous two or three days, so when the shaking started I think most people were expecting another moderate quake. The shaking only increased, and I remember very clearly there was a moment when we all looked at each other and dropped in unison under the computer tables. I learned why we get under furniture when all the books in the library started falling on my table. The shelves would have fallen if they hadn’t been braced against the ceiling. A big thank you to Mr. Sone for thinking ahead, he probably prevented some serious injuries. I also learned why we hold table legs because my table started to rattle away. The quake lasted about two minutes and came in two waves. The first was a strong rocking rumble that felt similar to the 2001 Nisqually earthquake. The second was a violent shake that felt like the floor was being jerked violently back and forth several inches. The ladder is what knocked books off shelves and made me realize this wasn’t your usual earthquake.

In the moment I was scared and confused. I remember cursing as the intensity only increased and I remember thinking that it would never end. I kept looking to see if giant cracks were crawling up the walls or if the floor was falling in. I also remember thinking that I had to keep it together for the students. Even though all this was going on, it didn’t cross my mind that this was the fabled “big one”. Eventually the quake stopped and we waited about twenty seconds (you should really wait a full minute) before heading out the emergency door.

No one at my school was hurt, and there was very little damage to the school.