At Least 30 Dead and Many Missing

I guess it takes an earthquake to get me online again!  My apologies for being away so long, but had some work issues that took a lot of time. Miguel will be happy though! Thanks to the others who wrote to inquire if we survived.

Those of us who live here deal with the many earthquakes.  Just a fact of life.  Those who live or have lived in California know all about it. The vast majority are small shocks (3-4) that rock the bed, make some noise and are generally not big deals.  Buildings in Costa Rica generally are built with a LOT of Rebar and concrete and most are very safe and suffer little damage. There are, however, many homes, especially in the country and areas not prosperous, that fall apart in the quakes.

This earthquake was nasty… 6.2. It was supposedly the strongest in 150 years… though I am not sure how they know that as the Richter Scale was not developed until the 1930’s.

There have been over 2,000 aftershocks of which we felt maybe 30. That in itself is unusual.

It did a lot of damage.  It hit on Thursday just after 1 PM. The most serious damage was as a result of landslides and homes just shifting and falling down hills and mountainsides. Many people were trapped under falling debris.

It was an odd quake.  I was taking a nap and was deeply (I think!) asleep when it hit. The entire house was moving and I do not mean a little. I called for the housekeeper who was really upset and we stood in a doorway until it passed.  Maybe 40 seconds or so. Most quales are kinda fun… this one was not.

Only damage to the house were some cracks in the patio.  Nothing in the house even fell… truly amazing as it was hard to stnd up!

I was lucky enough to get a call through to my wife whose office is on the 4th floor of Calderon Guardia Hospital.  She was scared but OK. The third floor suffered a lot of damage though.  No dead.

More soon… promise!