Today We had an Earthquake.

Today August 22, 2022, we had an earthquake in Bali. 

If you have never felt one, then you are better off. Having lived in Indonesia on and off for a few years, I have felt a few. I would say this was the second scariest one.

This afternoon at 4:36 pm there was a magnitude 5.8 quake near me. It was 66 km or so away, but the feeling was quite surreal. The very first time I experienced an earthquake was when I was having breakfast in Jakarta, Indonesia in 2000. Yes, that was a while ago, but it was my first earthquake.

I remember having a bowl of cereal and as we all do, I was reading the back of the box when it moved. I was sure I was moving the table somehow but no. It was moving on its own. I am an early bird so no one else was awake to experience the quake.

The second time was scarier.

Fast forward about 18 years and I was in the basement of Plaza Indonesia in Jakarta. I was eating in a Japanese restaurant when the lights began to sway.

We felt nothing, to be honest. It was very interesting. I assume it was because of the structure being a mall we didn’t feel the quake. All we noticed was that the lights were moving.

In a panic, everyone got up and ran toward the escalators. Now we were so far underground that there was no way we would have made it out. So rather than running, we got up and moved as close as we could to the largest column we could find close to our location.

Funny enough we all ran out of the restaurant without paying. No one was worried about the bill. When the lights stopped swinging, we all went back to our tables and finished our meals. In the end, we did have to pay.

It all passed quickly.

Much like this one, the other quake too lasted about 5-8 seconds. Those 5-8 seconds seem like an eternity when the mall or the villa I am in is shaking. A few neighbors ran out of their places as well. We all checked our phones and began to message friends around the island to see if they were alright.

Eventually, the news trickled in. We found out that this was quite a big quake. Normally we feel little shakes here and there and often we ask friends, but they hadn’t even noticed.

Funny enough we were all outside and a lady rode in on her scooter and looked at us funny. Why were we unusually congregating together outside? She on the scooter didn’t have a clue that there was an earthquake.

Quakes are common.

Yet the interesting part is, that Bali is not big at all. Yet so many different parts of the island can experience isolated earthquakes. About 2 hours away there was quite a devastating quake a few years ago. It was awful because it was in the middle of COVID and people didn’t know how to behave. Quakes and COVID didn’t mix well, and emergency personnel was very confused as to how to help those in need.

Another thing to realize is… Like on most islands, the local houses are not built to any sort of code. Hotels and larger homes are built well.  Some local homes and businesses could probably be toppled by a dozen men. As far as we know, there were no casualties from the quake today, but tsunamis can always happen. Let’s hope no large waves come to shore.

gampa, Bali earthquake, mother nature, Bali Indonesia, Denpasar,

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