My Wake-up Call

I tend to only blog when I take pictures of the kids but last week's earthquake and tsunami disaster left an impression on me that I can't forget. 

Before heading for bed on Thursday night (3/10/11) I checked the news and read about the earthquake in Japan and the tsunami warning for the coast of Russia and Japan.  I looked everywhere online to see if the west coast was in danger.  I found nothing to indicate a tsunami was headed my way, I slept peacefully for 5 short hours.

At 5 am I woke to feed Olivia and as always, checked my phone to read the latest fb posts and emails.  I was flooded with texts, missed calls and voice mails that had been coming the previous hour.  Immediately my heart started racing as I saw glimpses of "warning", "tsunami", "packing up",  from friends & neighbors.

I checked my voicemail first, which was from a member of my church.  The voice explained the events in Japan and that a wave was headed to the coast and although it was unknown how large (or small) it would be, it was expected to arrive by 7:15 am.  He suggested that residents living on lower ground should head up and out of harm's way. 

My texts were from friends and neighbors sending out a warning as well stating the sirens went off at 3 am and government officials were knocking on doors of homes built on lower ground.  Charleston was already being evacuated.

I don't like to panic or blow things out of proportion but I could not ignore my pounding heart.  I woke up Brian and we quickly turned on the news.  Brian did a little research of his own and was not concerned in the least that we were in danger.  This was nice to hear, but I had received so many warnings to leave for higher ground that I decided to do so.  I figured it wouldn't hurt and was probably good practice if nothing else.

I packed what I would need to be gone all day including food, change of clothes, diapers, wipes, baby food, water, blankets & coats as well as books and entertainment for the kids.  Brian and I woke the kids just before it was time to go and loaded them up in the van.  My pounding heart slowed to a healthy rhythm as soon as I left my house.

I headed to my church parking lot, which is high enough to view the ocean and coast line and Bri headed to work (also higher ground).  At this point we were expecting a wave around 6 feet to reach our coast at 7:15.  The parking lot filled up quickly.  I saw several friends from my neighborhood and we chatted about how we heard the news. 

Fortunately, the wave that hit the Coos Bay coastline did not reek any havoc. We were again cautioned of more waves to hit between 9-10am and to stay away from the coast and our homes.  I headed to a friend's house to let the kids play and eat while we waited it out.  Of course I watched way too much news coverage on the devastation in Japan to ever fully relax.

I was so relieved and grateful that I was able to return to my untouched home and put my babies down for a nap.  As I unpacked (still watching the news) I was overwhelmed with gratitude for an uneventful day. 

Since that crazy morning I have been unable to shake the need to be prepared for an emergency.  It's not likely I'll get a 2 hour window to pack and prepare for a disaster.  I may only get 2 minutes.  Brian and I relocated all of our "emergency survival" ie: camping gear, right next to the garage door and I'm preparing a duffle bag that is packed and ready to grab on our way out.

We are still watching the news on the devastation in Japan and all that is being done to help.  My heart was broken as I watched so much footage of the destruction occurring.  I hope I never experience anything like that personally but at least now I feel a little more prepared for it.