Earthquake!

I was sitting at my computer yesterday afternoon doing some work when suddenly my chair began to tremble. I also felt a little dizzy and was thinking maybe the heat had gone to my head. It was only when my maid came rushing up the stairs yelling that the doors and furniture were shaking downstairs, that it occurred to me that we were probably experiencing earthquake tremors. My maid, who is from Cambodia, had never experienced anything like this before and she was terrified!

The tremors which began around 4.40 p.m. lasted something like two to three minutes.

A little while later, an aunt rang and confirmed that there had been a massive earthquake (8.6 magnitude) in western Sumatra and she warned us not to go anywhere near the beach in case the earthquake had triggered another tsunami. We live quite close to the sea and of course felt some apprehension.

The 2004 tsunami killed thousands in various parts of the world including Penang where parts of Batu Ferringhi and Persiaran Gurney were affected

What a relief when we heard that the tsunami alert had been lifted a little after 8.30 p.m. I guess the whole world must have also heaved a big sigh of relief!