The Amateur Writer

As you all know, today's earthquake wasn't as strong as the 7.1 last year but this one actually caused a lot of deaths. This is because it was during rush hour and a lot of people are out and about at the city centre or working in their offices.

According to the news the earthquake happened around 10AM-1PM New Zealand time. I was up by 10AM to get ready to run some errands and I'm pretty sure that the tremor had not hit Dunedin at the time. I was alone at home since Naomi was out to class while Alia was running some errands. Around 11AM I was ready to go to Jie Ning's when both of my friends came back from whatever they did in town.

The moment the tremor hit Dunedin, Jie Ning and I...didn't feel anything. On the other hand, Alia who was taking a nap in my room ran down stairs when the bed shook violently. She went to see whether Naomi was okay. She...didn't feel anything.

Jie Ning and I were only aware of the earthquake when a friend stopped us on the street and asked whether we felt the tremor. I thought it wasn't that serious because it probably one of those common quakes that Dunedin and Christchurch always get. It was only until I got to K-Mart when I heard some staff were crying and panicking. At that time, it was about 12-ish.

Later that day I found out that 65 people were killed during the earthquake. And tonight, my house is buzzing with Alia and Naomi trying to reach out and help the victims through organizing charity events and opening donation boxes.

If you happen to be in Dunedin or a student of Otago Uni, OMSA is having a donation box during Clubs Day this Thursday at Clubs and Socs. Also part of your membership fee will be taken for the donation.

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