Gillian's+Story

One morning, I awoke to a strange sound. It was a low, loud grumble. I suddenly felt shaking. I stumbled over to the window, seeing buildings toppled over. It was an earthquake! The P waves and S waves had probably been what had woken me up. The surface waves had arrived. The San Francisco skyline had changed drastically since I had seen it last night. I saw houses falling to the ground. The hotel I was in was swaying, but it wasn’t shaking as violently as many other buildings. Maybe it was a base-isolated building. I knew that I should run under a table or bed or do something, but I couldn't. My eyes glued to the dying city. The epicenter must be close, I thought. I saw a hotel crumble. This earthquake must be at least a IX on the Mercalli scale ; most everything was being destroyed. Suddenly, the shaking stopped. It was no longer a struggle to remain standing. I knew, however, that this wasn’t the end. There were aftershocks, tsunamis , and liquefaction.

Well, that’s what happens when your parents think that it’s a good idea to stay on the San Andres Fault.

Suddenly, the ground started shaking again. Aftershocks. I ran to my bed and climbed under it. I could feel the building swaying again. It felt like I was on a boat. It stopped after about 15 seconds. I climbed out from under my bed and walked over to my purse. I found my phone. I dialed my mom’s cell phone number, but there was no service. I hate San Francisco. I looked out the windows, seeing fire trucks and ambulances driving around chaotically. People were rushing around, exiting buildings. Some people were stuck under debris. I turned on the t.v. and put the news on. I didn’t hear much except for the words earthquake, 9.8 moment magnitude scale, and lucky to be alive. The hotel began swaying again. I was freaking out. Where was my family? What was I going to do? When would the shaking stop? As if on cue, it did, and they walked in. I breathed a sigh of relief.