Earthquakes are still scary

This lunchtime we had an Earthquake in Tokamachi. I was at school, teaching a couple of third-years how to play chess, when it happened.

During the first rumblings I wasn't sure if it was the earthquake or teh wind that was rattling the windows. Soon after the ground begins to move noticabley, steadily getting stronger and everything around you vibrates and moves. All the time there's a worry that the earthquake will suddenly snap and instantly become violent, just like the big one did last October.

But we were lucky. After thirty seconds or so, the earthquake started to calm down and the ground slowly stopped moving. There was an after-shock a little while after, but not as big as the first. An announcement over the PA system by teh school office told us that the epicentre was near Ojiya and it measured around 5 on teh japanese earthquake scale. Not a massive one, but big enough to make you worry. Matsudai and Matsunoyama felt the quake stronger than in Tokamachi so I texted Annie. She replied that she was fine, though her apartment has been messed up a bit.

Still, at least it wasn't nearly as bad as the one last October.