Erinn Goes Abroad

Earthquakes

Earthquakes: worthy of examination. A ubiquitous topic that hangs on people’s mind… on the forefront or otherwise. Earthquakes are not my topic of expertise.

As a South Eastern American, our biggest fear of natural disaster tends toward the occasional hurricane (Let us not forget Snowpocalyse 2011. Read: It snowed twice in one season and was quite a mind blow).

I remember the first time I felt an earthquake in New Zealand. Felt is a bit of an exaggeration. What I felt, or rather observed were my flatmates’ instinctive responses, as they both scurried from the couch to underneath a doorframe in the bat of an eye. I looked on, bewildered by their antics, but an explanation cured me of that. In my defense, it was a particularly windy night and I was living in a very old house. The purported earthquake felt no different than the strong gusts of wind that frequently shook the house. Be that as it may they were correct. An earthquake had indeed occurred.

Intrigued by their response, so efficient and no-nonsense, I inquired about its origins.

“It’s what we learnt in primary school,” they shrugged.

I winced. In that moment, images of my elementary school days invaded my mind. 9 years old: orange highlights, a lip bumper and high water bellbottom jeans. Socks that didn’t quite match. An endearing, but slightly ridiculous obsession with unicorns. How little has changed. No memories of learning earthquake safety procedures came to mind though. Tornado and hurricane safety, to be sure. But earthquake safety?

My general impression of Kiwis with earthquake safety is highly sensible. Everyone has a quick response prepped in their tool box… dive under a table or a mattress. Have a pair of sneakers at work incase you need to evacuate. Store bottles of water, flash lights, non-perishable food.

The possibility of an earthquake is a real danger. Maybe not in the everyday sort of sense, but New Zealand is situated on various fault lines. It would be nonsensical to avoid earthquake preparedness. I’ve learnt more about earthquakes recently than I could have ever imagined before moving to New Zealand. Thanks to Te Papa (the national museum), anecdotal evidence from conversation and observing the battles Christchurch citizens face regularly with the aftershocks that destroy their city. It’s unfortunate on many levels and one can only hope their troubles will soon pass.

I am hoping to avoid major earthquakes during my stay here. On a positive note, signs of Spring seem to be popping up this week. We’ve had some clear and warmer weather. Fingers crossed that it sticks around!