At six thirty this morning, Zagreb was hit with a 5.3 earthquake.
I didn't sleep during the night, had a bad, sleepless night. At around six, I was calmer, and tired, so I decided to go to bed. I had some water, put my earplugs in, and lay down, hugging a pillow; which is my customary way of sleeping. Some time later, I was drifting off, sort of between sleep and wakefulness. Then, everything shook, everything. The room, my bed, me: everything trembled and shook and quaked as though I was on a steam train, but it was so much more worse. I heard rattling, and everything was shaking like mad. It was like a dream, a nightmare. It felt surreal.
My mind behaved logically, and jumped to the conclusion of earthquake. I lay there, eyes closed.
Another quake just happened, as I wrote this. A small one, but it's enough to get my heart pounding, and the adrenaline pulsing. I'm really jittery. I don't think I will sleep tonight.
Anyway, I lay there, eyes closed, thinking that this was the end of the world, as everything shook and rattled as though I was in a tree caught in a storm. I thought the house would collapse, that there would be a sinkhole. I thought I would die. I state that this was most likely the worst moment in my life. I cannot substantially describe the sensations, and the violent tremors.
Anyway, when the first quake stopped, I leapt out of bed, and, shaking with terror and nerves, went to my father's room. We decided to evacuate, packed rucksacks, put on clothes, and left the apartment. As we went down the steps to the outside (we live in the top storey of an apartment) our neighbour came out. He speaks German, we don't, but we got the idea that he said it was safe, that the house was earthquake proof, and that we could stay.
We did. I went into my dad's room, and he lay down whilst I was beside him. We were both shaken, terrified, and dad thought he would have a heart attack. I had to speak, to calm things down...but I really believed that my dad might have died at that time. We calmed down, until the aftershock struck. It was less violent, but still bad.
Then the neighbour calls us and says that we must leave. We packed our bags (mine with my I phone, I pad, a book, sewing stuff, and a chocolate bar.) We leave and park in a post office car park.
Then I phone the landlady to see what's happening, as she speaks English. She said that the damage in Zagreb was really bad, and sent photos. There was rubble, cars smashed, churches destroyed inside, and one person is in a critical condition.
She told us to remain outside, as there might be another earthquake in an hour. So we waited, and there wasn't one. After an hour and a half or so, she told us we could return.
We did, we talked, then we slept due to exhaustion. I didn't sleep much though, maybe three hours or so. Now we're awake, having something to eat, and then we have a mess to clean up.
Anyway...I'm calmer now...but I'm going to be traumatised. I'm certain. Whenever I hear wind rattling, I'm going to recall this earthquake. I had never feel anything like it before. I hope I never do again.