Padang earthquake

I was talking to a customer on the phone when I suddenly felt so giddy. It felt like the whole building is moving. So I thought that it was just dizziness. 2 mins later, everyone was running and we were ordered to evacuate. I didn’t know what was happening but told the customer that I had to leave the line immediately. I grabbed my bag & mobile phone and realised that I was the last few ones left in the office. When I was going down the stairs, I realised that I was still wearing my ‘selipar jepun’ (direct translation – japanese slippers…haha). I look so awful lah.

Anyway, when we reached the lobby, people were saying that the next building, OCBC, is shaking and going to collapse. So I was like "Huh? Really? That’s scary. Then we shouldn’t be standing here. Should go to a safer place" At that time I didn’t know that what I felt earlier was the tremors from Padang earthquake. Soon, about 10-15 mins, we got to know the real cause.

But one thing that made me really pissed. One of my colleagues said the Singapore buildings are very strong and very safe. There’s no way a building in Singapore can collapse. I thought, she shouldn’t be so boastful about this. I believe if it’s time for it to collapse, it will, no matter how strong the structure is. If miracles can happen, why not this? Right? Hotel New World can collapse, so…

Then I felt the second tremor and this time I was standing & leaning on my colleague’s table. Only God knows how scary that was. I was thinking about the situation at Padang. It must’ve been chaos. Sad isn’t it? I can only offer my sympathies to those affected. May God protect them, the survivors…