An earthquake started off my weekend

When you move to a new country, you hope to become a part of them; their culture, their food, their way of doing things, generally, part of their good. I doubt anyone wishes to be caught up in the ugly; the poverty, disease, crime, prejudices and biases. In a new country, we want to attend more baby showers, weddings and if possible never have to be part of a friend’s funeral. We can be prepared, we can take precaution, but we can never be assured of unpleasant happenings. Natural disasters are such one thing and Mother Nature is a big part of the equation.

Shortly before 9 AM Saturday morning, during one of those sleeping-in weekends, I was woken up by the most violent shaking and my name being shouted out. I have felt the earth move twice before and so even in my groggy state I instantly knew that we were experiencing an earthquake.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the Quito earthquake of October 29 was a magnitude 4.0 at a depth of 3 km, 17 km NE of Quito. Additionally, local reports say that the 20 seconds quake epicenter was at the valley of Cambayo. As I scrambled downstairs for safety, the entire house [a concrete structure] shook like a leaf and it felt like someone kept pulling the floor off my feet.

As fast as it had started, it came to an end and then the phones started ringing as friends called to check if everyone was okay. Local news reported no injuries, but the Secretaria Nacional de Gestión de Riesgos reported that many landslides had been triggered in regions closer to the epicentre. Cracks in houses were also reported.

Map courtesy of USGS

About three hours later some friends called that they were stuck in the office as the bridge connecting the two valleys over Rio Chicho in Tumbaco was closed to allow inspection. As I write this, this bridge remains closed.

Yesterday’s event left me curious about earthquakes in Ecuador. I hit the internet in search of information and History.com didn’t disappoint. It appears that Quito has been the site of many powerful earthquakes through the years: The city’s history of earthquakes in modern times began with a monster tremor on February 4, 1797. Not only did an estimated 40,000 people in the city perish, but the quake activated the Cotopaxi volcano which in turn led to lava raining down on the town of Ambato. [Cotopaxi, rising to 5,897 m and located 28 km south of Quito is a continuously active volcano].

On March 22, 1859, the city suffered one of its worst when a tremor killed 5,000 people and destroyed some of the most famous buildings in South America including the Government Palace, the Archepiscopal Palace, the Chapel of El Sagrario and the Temple of the Augustines.

Following this disaster, Quito was not hit again by a major earthquake until August 1949, when a tremor south of the city killed 6,000 and left 100,000 people homeless.

Even though I know that earthquakes are quite a frequent occurrence in Ecuador, terremoto, Spanish for earthquake, is one noun I would have been fine not learning. Sadly, I also now understand that victims of earthquakes around the world never really get to know what hit them!