Earthquake during rehearsal

Japan
December 4, 2019 1:45am CST
We are preparing for our all-school (K-12) choir Christmas program, which will be happening this Friday. This morning, I was sitting on the piano bench and students were singing when I became aware that the words that were projected on a screen in the auditorium were moving around. I thought, "Why are those words jumping around? Is it the computer or the projector?" Then I thought, "No, it's an earthquake shaking the screen and projector." At that moment the choir director said, "Oh look, we're having an earthquake!" I said, "Sit down on the risers!" (because there wasn't anything to get under, and it's probably not good to be standing up on risers which could shake and throw you off. I have thought through this scenario, but today was the first time I had to actually do anything about it.) So it rocked for a bit longer and then we got up and sang through the rest of the rehearsal. Turned out there was a magnitude 5 on land not too far from where we are. Anyway, we are all earthquake veterans and nobody freaked out.
6 people like this
8 responses
@rakski (156552)
• Philippines
4 Dec 19
I am glad that you are veterans of earthquake, I hope everybody are like that
1 person likes this
@rakski (156552)
• Philippines
5 Dec 19
@petatonicsca that is true. We have practice drills here but it is very different in reality.
• Japan
5 Dec 19
Yes, maybe it's not so scary when we know what to do.
1 person likes this
@Starkinds (32737)
• India
4 Dec 19
Ohh omg
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• Japan
5 Dec 19
Yeah, it was a bit surprising!
1 person likes this
@Starkinds (32737)
• India
5 Dec 19
@petatonicsca it's everything is okay.
@msdivkar (23356)
• India
4 Dec 19
Earthquakes seem to be common fenomenon in Japan. Every now and then we hear about earthquake in Japan some big some small. You seem to have developed infrastructure to tackle these earthquakes.
1 person likes this
@msdivkar (23356)
• India
4 Dec 19
@petatonicsca That's nice. You are saving lot of lives.
• Japan
4 Dec 19
Yee, our buildings are good.
1 person likes this
@averygirl72 (38848)
• Philippines
4 Dec 19
We have so many earthquakes in the Philippines this year 2019. It is good it is not a strong one
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• Japan
5 Dec 19
Yes, there certainly have been! Hope you keep staying safe.
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@Shavkat (141905)
• Philippines
4 Dec 19
That's really terrifying moment. I know how it feels. Be safe there.
1 person likes this
@Shavkat (141905)
• Philippines
5 Dec 19
@petatonicsca We had this killer earthquake in 1990. It was really a bad thing to experience.
• Japan
5 Dec 19
I'm sure you do!
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (382345)
• Rockingham, Australia
4 Dec 19
Good idea to make the kids sit on the risers. And good that no-one panicked.
• Japan
5 Dec 19
They are also veterans. They were in kindergarten or first grade or so in 2011 so went through many earthquakes.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (382345)
• Rockingham, Australia
5 Dec 19
@petatonicsca Being used to them would help a bit I guess.
@LadyDuck (502653)
• Italy
4 Dec 19
Better not to panic and keep the calm, most accidents happen when people panic. I am glad you had no damages.
@LadyDuck (502653)
• Italy
5 Dec 19
@petatonicsca You are right, it is better to know exactly what to do to avoid panic.
• Japan
5 Dec 19
It's much easier to be calm when you have thought through how to react in different buildings. In the classroom building we have desks to go under. On stage we don't but we know it is the safest building on campus.
1 person likes this
@Alexandoy (65302)
• Cainta, Philippines
4 Dec 19
Earthquake can always scare us depending on the situation. It's good that you have the presence of mind.
• Japan
5 Dec 19
I used to be terrified until I started studying them, then I understand what to do and how to react, and also that our buildings were ok in 2011 so unlikely for anything to fall on us.
@Alexandoy (65302)
• Cainta, Philippines
5 Dec 19
@petatonicsca that means you are well-versed with earthquakes already.