Earthquake Overload For the past year, I’ve had quakes on my mind. A lot. Last week, a magnitude 6.5 earthquake (epicenter in Oaxaca) shook me out of bed in Mexico City at 2:30am. Heart pounding, I raced to the doorway and joined my startled housemates to wait it out. It’s a feeling I’ve become all too familiar with. In July 2009, I felt my first earthquake ever while visiting my brother in Tokyo. This latest tremor makes it a grand total of nine that I’ve experienced since then. Nine earthquakes. In one year. In three different countries. The first three were all within a span of four days in Tokyo, which as they say, is “due” for a big one any day now. The next three were in Haiti, a month after the infamous January quake that left 200,000 people dead. And the last three were here in Mexico City, in my 14th floor apartment that sways back and forth like a twizzler. Thanks to the Aztecs, Mexico City sits on top of a huge, ancient lake bed. That means the ground is extra soft, making the buildings more sensitive to earth movement. My apartment building near downtown dances with the slightest quake, but friends just a few miles away don’t feel a thing. We felt the last one strongly while a friend near the epicenter in Oaxaca slept right through it. Many old buildings in Mexico City are sinking at an astonishing rate; you can see the walls leaning from outside and feel the floors slanting from inside. I’m not sure how they don’t lose a church in every quake. Ever since Haiti, the Mexico City government has been touting its earthquake preparedness, conducting simulation drills, and dispensing advice. One e-mail I received said we must prepare ourselves for an eventual earthquake. Among other counsel, it said the first 40 to 60 seconds are vital to get yourself out of a building up to five stories tall. Um, so what about me up here on the 14th floor? “Anyone who finds themselves above that level…the best thing is to find the most structurally sound area.” In other words, you’re screwed. I’ve often thought about what I would do in the event of a big earthquake here. Other than be terrified. Can’t use the elevator. Could never get down 14 flights of shaking stairs before it was all over. Stand in a doorway? On the terrace? Run up to the building’s roof? At least that way nothing could fall on top of me. Trust me, this is not a pleasant line of thought. Every building here has a “What to do in earthquakes” sign (above). Stay Calm. Turn off the stove. Get away from windows and falling objects. Don’t use elevators. Move into secure areas. And book it for the exit. OK well, I can do all of that…except the last step. If you’re gonna live in the top-floor penthouse of a building, I guess you just gotta learn to roll with the punches and shake with the quakes. Oh boy.

Earthquake Overload

For the past year, I’ve had quakes on my mind. A lot. Last week, a magnitude 6.5 earthquake (epicenter in Oaxaca) shook me out of bed in Mexico City at 2:30am. Heart pounding, I raced to the doorway and joined my startled housemates to wait it out. It’s a feeling I’ve become all too familiar with.

In July 2009, I felt my first earthquake ever while visiting my brother in Tokyo. This latest tremor makes it a grand total of nine that I’ve experienced since then. Nine earthquakes. In one year. In three different countries.

The first three were all within a span of four days in Tokyo, which as they say, is “due” for a big one any day now. The next three were in Haiti, a month after the infamous January quake that left 200,000 people dead. And the last three were here in Mexico City, in my 14th floor apartment that sways back and forth like a twizzler.

Thanks to the Aztecs, Mexico City sits on top of a huge, ancient lake bed. That means the ground is extra soft, making the buildings more sensitive to earth movement. My apartment building near downtown dances with the slightest quake, but friends just a few miles away don’t feel a thing. We felt the last one strongly while a friend near the epicenter in Oaxaca slept right through it. Many old buildings in Mexico City are sinking at an astonishing rate; you can see the walls leaning from outside and feel the floors slanting from inside. I’m not sure how they don’t lose a church in every quake.

Ever since Haiti, the Mexico City government has been touting its earthquake preparedness, conducting simulation drills, and dispensing advice. One e-mail I received said we must prepare ourselves for an eventual earthquake. Among other counsel, it said the first 40 to 60 seconds are vital to get yourself out of a building up to five stories tall. Um, so what about me up here on the 14th floor? “Anyone who finds themselves above that level…the best thing is to find the most structurally sound area.” In other words, you’re screwed.

I’ve often thought about what I would do in the event of a big earthquake here. Other than be terrified. Can’t use the elevator. Could never get down 14 flights of shaking stairs before it was all over. Stand in a doorway? On the terrace? Run up to the building’s roof? At least that way nothing could fall on top of me. Trust me, this is not a pleasant line of thought.

Every building here has a “What to do in earthquakes” sign (above). Stay Calm. Turn off the stove. Get away from windows and falling objects. Don’t use elevators. Move into secure areas. And book it for the exit. OK well, I can do all of that…except the last step. If you’re gonna live in the top-floor penthouse of a building, I guess you just gotta learn to roll with the punches and shake with the quakes. Oh boy.