Monday, May 12, 2008

Yes, there was an earthquake... 1000 miles away...

Yes, there was a strong earthquake in China today. Yes, we felt it. And yes, I'm fine. There's not much news about damage done to the western province where the earthquake hit, but as for here it was pretty minor. We were evacuated from our office building and have just been allowed back in. I didn't even notice the building swaying until one of my trainees pointed it out. Then we began the march down 25 flights of stairs. Fun! We stood outside for about an hour and a half, and then were allowed back upstairs. Most people here have never felt an earthquake before and there was a lot of nervous chatter in the stairwells. All and all made for an interesting afternoon.

Now reality strikes, and it's back to work. Boo.

Update: What a tragedy. I've been watching the news all evening and I'm just so saddened by the magnitude of it all. I am, however, impressed with the government's swift response. Within an hour of the quake, the president was on a plane to Sichuan and 5,000 troops had been deployed to help with the disaster efforts.