<I>It was my first experience of an earthquake and I was petrified as the house shook and strange rumblings could be heard sounding like a train rushing through a tunnel. As we hurried through the lounge, the furniture was sliding about and things were falling from shelves and smashing onto the floor. As we tried to hurry down the stairs it was like being on a ship in a rough sea. When we reached the garden the sound changed to a strange rhythmic 'brrum-brrum-brrum- brrum.' Out in the streets we could hear people screaming as they rushed about in panic. Father was so worried about us that somehow he managed to drive from his office through all the chaos, to see if we were alright. Fortunately the house had been well built so withstood the violent shaking. When we returned to the apartment, it was a scene of devastation with smashed china and everything strewn all over the place and even the heavy furniture had moved across the room. Father discovered that the earthquake had been so severe that it registered 7.6 on the Richter scale and had lasted for about eight minutes, but it seemed much longer.</I></p>