At two minutes past midnight a few seconds after waking the building started shaking. It got progressively stronger and I started wondering whether this was the predicted "big one" that Wellington is due to get.
It is a very strange feeling to have the bed and building being moved around so strongly. My heart was beating faster and I was trying figure out what to do. I thought about getting under the bed but that was not promising as I don't think I would have been able to fit under it. I had the thought that I might head for the table in the dining room but that was not the wisest idea either. So I took the only rational option which was to stay in bed. I am not sure how long the shaking was for but it seemed to go on for ages. Eventually the shaking died down and I got out of bed to check the flat. I was really wired and wide awake by that stage
Despite being on the fifth floor of the building nothing had come out of cupboards and the only thing I saw was one cupboard door that had opened as a result of the shaking.
My building is a long narrow building but it seemed to rock on its north south axis which is the length of the building.
I rang Bev to let her know I was ok before she, who is on the stable continent of Australia, began worrying. While speaking to her a number of aftershocks came through. They were very strong but short and sharp unlike the big one. She asked how big it was so I looked at the Geonet app which is on my phone and saw that it was magnitude 6.6 and located near Hanmer Springs a good 300 or more kilometres to the south of us. It was later upgraded to a 7.5 magnitude quake.
I then rang my mother to make sure that the shock of the quake had not caused heart attack and was pleased to hear that she was ok but a bit shaken up. We chatted for a while and she told me later that she was very grateful that I had rung.
Shortly after the quake my occasional flatmate arrived home. She made a cup of tea and related how her car was shaking and she thought that had a puncture but then saw lots of students in the street and stopped to talk with them. They were a little scared of what had happened.
Radio New Zealand ran a wonderful service telling people what was happening, passing on a Tsunami warning soon after the first shock. During all this time the aftershocks continued. I lay in bed and read because I was still "wired". Finally at around 3am I went to sleep waking again at my usual time of 6am.
The last time I felt anything that strong was in 1968 when I was student at Nelson College. I was a boarder and on the third floor of the hostel and it was in the early morning. The earthquake was called the Inangahua earthquake. We shook in the same way and us boys couldn't decide whether to get under our beds or not. Like this time, the aftershocks kept coming and we did not get a huge amount of sleep.
I am working at the NZ Defence Force and like many businesses it has been closed today while the building is checked out. I am feeling very tired so I am not too bothered.
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