mylifeinspain: the earthquake: part I

First, just wanted to let everyone know Big Jim and I are safely back in Spain. We picked up the pups from the kennel this morning, so the family is now reunited and very happy to be together again. :-) Our departure from Pakistan was difficult for both of us. On one hand, we are relieved to be back home where we can begin to restore some sense of normalcy to our lives. On the other, it is incredibly hard to leave our friends in Pakistan to pick up the pieces of a shattered country and the countless lives that have been affected by this tragedy. We fear the current death counts reflect only a fraction of those who have been killed and whose bodies may never be recovered. We remain profoundly sad. Another huge thank-you to everyone who has sent e-mails and left comments. Big Jim and I are eternally grateful for your love and support. ********************************************* Just before the earthquake struck, I decided to go to the edge of the river, which was down a small bank below our stone cabin, to take in a bit of the tranquil setting before breakfast, which we were to have at 9 am. When the earthquake began at 8:50, it took a couple seconds for me to realize exactly what was happening, the ground below me twisting and turning like the floor of an amusement park funhouse. There then was a series of very loud cracks as rock began to free itself from the mountain just opposite our cabin and then begin its long freefall into the valley. I watched some boulders fall into the river, realized the danger, and then turned around toward the cabin. The pine trees that lined the bank were moving in such a way that made them appear like figures sliding back and forth on a fussball table. For several moments, I was frozen as I tried to figure out how I was to escape. There was a sensation of being trapped by the falling boulders on one side and the girating trees on the other. Just then, Big Jim came running out from the cabin. He, rather comically, had been sitting on the toilet when the quake began. He first realized something was amiss when the wall in front of him split open a couple inches. And then the floor began to shake. He managed to deal with the immediate issue of getting his pants pulled up and dashed out as debris began to fall inside our bedroom. The stone chimney detached but did not fall; rather, it danced on the roof performing a complete pirouette before finally coming to rest just a few inches from its original mark. Big Jim found me still by the river's edge. He yelled to me to come to him, but I could see no clear path through the trees. He managed to get to the top of the embankment and pull me up. We then ran to a clear area, after which our memories are still a bit blurry. I can recall watching car-sized boulders continue to fall close to where I had been standing, and I remember repeatedly saying "Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god." But that is all. When the ground finally became still, there were a few quiet minutes before the valley was full of wails and mournful cries. A teenaged girl had been killed just across the river, and many people were injured. We stood in horror as groups carrying the injured and dead came across the ricketedy wooden footbridge that joined our camp to the mountainside opposite the river. Then we began a frantic search for Nasir. He had been staying in another area of the camp. At this point, we had no idea of the scope and scale of the earthquake's devastation. But from the continuing cries elsewhere in the village, we knew it was bad. We eventually found Nasir. Thankfully, he too was uninjured. When the earthquake happened, he was outside washing the car and giving it a look-over in anticipation of our return to Islamabad later that morning. Nasir was emotionally shaken, having also viewed the bodies being carried across the bridge. He said in a soft voice to Big Jim, "There are dead people, sir." The details of the next few hours also are still a bit fuzzy for us. It was during this time that we met J-P., a French diplomat who had arrived at the camp the previous night. The countless aftershocks also began very soon after the initial earthquake, coming in tortuous waves every two to five minutes. There was little information available at the camp, so after a few hours, we set out in the car to try to get a better handle on the situation. We did not get far. A few miles out of Naran, we were stopped by our previously mentioned hero, Officer Shakeel, who advised us the road was completely impassable just a few hundred yards further. We returned to the camp, where a generator was now providing sufficient power to run a television. It was only then that we learned how far reaching the quake had been. Heavy losses were reported in Mansehra and Balakot, two cities situated at the southern end of the Kaghan Valley. After seeing the fallen apartment building in Islamabad, Nasir was worried about the safety of his family. But of course we had no way to contact anyone outside of the immediate area, and we began to realize our return to Islamabad was not going to happen that day. Although our stone cabin fared better than others, it was no longer structurally safe, and I insisted I wanted to sleep outside in a tent that night. However, Big Jim convinced me that one of the wood-framed cabins at the camp would be okay, as well as much warmer. Nasir moved the car to a clearing on the grounds and bunked in there, too nervous to go inside any building of any sort. We went to bed wearing our clothes that night; I refused to even remove my shoes. I wanted to be ready to run should it become necessary again. Big Jim wisely had brought a flashlight with him, which we left by the cabin door. We planned an escape route and established a meeting point with Nasir. The aftershocks continued through the pitch black of night, and an added fear was the heavy rain that persisted for hours, encouraging more landslides. Not surprisingly, neither of us got much sleep that night. Hasta luego, mylifeinspain Some photos from October 8, 2005:

Happier times in Naran.

Clouds of dust envelope the mountain near our cabin, immediately post-quake.

Our cabin bedroom.

Other damaged cabins at the camp in Naran.

The earthquake struck during the tourist offseason, so fortunately these cabins were unoccupied.

If you look closely, you can just make out a crushed jeep under the collapsed roof. This photo was taken in the village of Naran.

Locals from Naran gathering near the river, where the body of a young boy sadly was found. Out of respect for the injured and grieving, we took no further pictures of personal suffering during our time in Naran and the Kaghan Valley.