Bangkok Earthquake

The earthquake came when I was walking down the hall to my apartment on the 27th floor. I had just come up in the lift, after picking up a food delivery. There were strange sounds coming from the neighbours’ apartments – as if rocks were tumbling down. It makes no sense, I thought, unless the building’s being taken down. I paused to listen. Then I felt dizzy. The floor I was standing on was suddenly soft.

I went quickly to my apartment. Something was happening. The tumbling rocks I imagined might burst out of those apartments. It took longer than usual for me to open the door. To my surprise, stepping inside my apartment was as if stepping onto a boat. I dropped the pastry in the plastic bag and went under the dining table.

I still didn’t believe it was an earthquake when the sway of the building grew more intense. My phone was on the table, next to the Thai language textbook I'd planned to study. I reached an arm for it and saw the wall crack. I worried the fish tank might slide off its base and wondered how I could stop it. Then I felt the building was falling over.

The tremor must have stopped when I decided to get up. It felt like it had, or at least subsided. I took my computer with me. I took the risk of taking the lift, for the stairs would take too long. It wasn’t an idea I’d suggest to anyone.

I made it to the ground without harm. ‘What’s going on?’ I asked the building manager.

‘Earthquake,’ he said.

Everyone was out on the street – some only in underpants, swimming suits, or bathrobes – and looking up and pointing at the building. Was it going to fall? Collapse?

The streets looked normal, though traffic was busy, but in Bangkok traffic is always busy.

We were told about an aftershock at 2:30. We were in the sun, it was hot. We waited for the aftershock, which never came (yet).

At 4:00, we were told we could go back to the building, but at our own risk. Many people stay ed out. I went back up and packed a few essentials in a bag and came out of the building.

I went with a friend from my building to the British Club. We stayed there for 6 hours. Many people booked hotel rooms on lower floors for the night. There were talks about moving or selling their condos. I went back to my apartment.

I inspected the wall cracks, which didn’t seem as scary as before, and repacked my bag – adding in more things. In case I’d have to run. In the shower, I wondered what to do if another shock came (yet).

It was hard to fall asleep. When I did, I dreamed about a window falling off a high-rise building.

On Saturday, the building management notified residents that after inspection, the building was structurally safe. I unpacked my bag.

When I slept, I kept waking up to the notion that an earthquake could come at any moment. I felt my heart racing and the pillow damp with sweat. I woke up at 2:00 a.m. and packed my bag again, just in case I had to run.