I've felt the earth move... it was nothing to compare.

I've felt the earth move, 5.6 on the scale they said...

Scared me...but barely got the attention of those where this is not an uncommon occurance...

Loud booming noise... saw the terrace go up and down...Lasted only seconds..
Just rode the wave, very wide eyed and worried... then asked what the heck was that...

Calmly told... earthquake. Then they looked away.
Nothing broke, nothing fell, no cracks were found... I had to look around.

In a place where it's been 200 years since the last...they never saw this coming..
I can not imagine the fear... the unknown...
I can not imagine the earth moving at a 7.0....
Buildings not designed nor built to withstand this, shook, swayed, and fell...
Concrete crumbled into dust... what was once there is now to hard to tell.

Many "aftershocks"... 5.6, 5.9, now 6.1...
There were others, many more... too many for me to recall...
To me these sound like Quakes, NOT aftershakes...

Every loud noise sends the people running, trying to get away...
There is no where to go... the crumbled buildings block the streets...

They make their way to the waters edge, swimming to boats off shore..
Crowding in to the smallest of spaces...where they really can fit no more.

Once open fields are now tent citys...
People gathering where they can...
Trying to locate loved ones, family, and friends...

Many days passed... little help getting in...
Airport runways crowded and blocked... after a while all incoming is stopped.
The port dock was damaged beyond being used... this latest, the 6.1 puts it beyond repair.

How to feed and quench the thirst of millions in this place of the lost...
Help comes from worlds away... yet little is distributed... too many with too little...

To be first in line so you can feed your child... I can't imagine the fears...

In a few days the world will move on...News people off to lesser stories...
I can't imagine anything larger happening... No one of greater need...