Anonymous Student from Taiwan Have you ever been involved in a big earthquake? Have you ever seen corpses lying in the streets? Have you ever seen buildings sink into the earth? People in Taiwan remember the nightmare of the 921 earthquake, September 21, 1999, very clearly. That night, almost everyone was awakened from their sweet and wonderful dreams. It all began deep in the night. It was near 2 a.m., but I wasn't in bed. My parents had gone to Canada on a trip, so I just stayed alone. When it came, I was so scared. I didn't know what had happened, so I didn't know what to do. I ran and hid under the desk until the earthquake was over. I heard the fish tank fall to the ground and shatter. Everything fell down like books, cupboards, and glasses. It lasted about 30 to 40 seconds, but it seemed like it never ended. After a while, the aftershocks stopped. I tried to call my friends to find out if they were ok, but I couldn't. The phone wasn't working, and electricity also went out. After several hours, I found my radio and listened to what happened on this terrible night while I was alone at home. The announcer said: "The 921 big earthquake, measured 7.3 on the Richter scale. A 12-story building totally collapsed during the earthquake and more than seventy people were killed in this tragedy and also many cities were destroyed." I was surprised to hear this news because the building was near my house, only 15 minutes away. I think I was very lucky because it could have killed me. After a day, I cleaned my house and my mother's friend came to my house to help me. She lives near my house and knew my parents went to Canada, so she wanted to know that I was ok. After cleaning, I tried to use my cell phone to call my friends because the phone also wasn't working. Most of my friends were all right, but some friends I couldn't get in touch with them. My parents saw the international news and worried about me, so they called my cell phone to make sure I was all right. Then I lived with my aunt until my parents came back to Taiwan. After several days, I watched the television news. People living in the other cities where the earthquake happened had the sorrow of losing their families and houses. It was a tragedy. Everything was broken. A lot of people were nervous and scared because many buildings were completely crooked, and they lost everything. Some buildings collapsed, and others were on fire. My aunt went to the disaster area to help the sufferers. She told me, "You can't imagine! Many corpses were lying in the streets because there were no more corpse bags to put them in. Everywhere there was a terrible odor. We were so lucky. We live in here not in the disaster areas. We are all right." The building of one of my friends collapsed. Almost all of the buildings were damaged in her city. I also heard that a friend and her fiancée planned a wedding for next month, but they died in the earthquake. The news reported that about two thousand three hundred forty people died in this earthquake. It was a terrible amount. I hope people who live in Taiwan can recover from the sadness of the 921 earthquake, and we must never forget what happened. I learned many things from this terrible experience. For example, if I am going to live anywhere, I have to be prepared for earthquakes. I also learned that people are helpful when we need them. Finally, I learned that people care about your life, especially your family. Thanks God I am alive today.
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