I was just sitting in my bed reading a novel before it started and I both felt and heard that below me something was moving and the pounding noise became stronger each second. My room was literally swinging too and fro so, I dashed towards my door slipping and sliding as I went. I thought it might be a sink-hole beneath my house or possibly an earthquake. I was desperately hoping that it would stop but instead it became much stronger. Everything around me was shaking and then my TV crashed onto the floor. The pounding below became stronger and I felt as if my house would tear apart at any moment. I desperately pressed myself hard against my bedroom door and held onto the door handle with all my might. After few more minutes the pounding became weaker and eventually it stopped. I managed to get up onto my feet and staggered out of my room and into my garden in my bare feet. The ground was still moving and my feet sank deep into the moist lawn grass, it felt as if I was standing in a boat in the middle of the ocean with waves crashing around me. Slowly, the ground stopped moving and I made my way to my greenhouse where my gardening shoes were and slipped them on my feet. I then made my way out of my garden and onto the street where all my neighbors had gathered.
I could tell that everyone was terrified. Some of my relatives were on the street, my uncle Jim and Aunty Rose were now with me, but my mom and dad were missing. My uncle Jim told me my parents had gone shopping earlier. I was really worried about them as they usually go to Aldi for their weekly shopping, Every house in the street was damaged in one way or another but were all still standing upright. I called my parent on my mobile phone several times but they didn’t reply. The connections were busy it said each time I tried. I stayed with my relatives for the next couple of of hours and I was becoming really worried now. As far as I was aware there had never been an earthquake in the UK and when I asked some of my neighbors about it no one could remember having one. There was still no word from my parents but my worries ended when my dad arrived and he said mom was okay and she was worried about me. My mom was dropping off a birthday card at one of my relatives homes in town.
When things finally calmed down I wondered where the earthquake epicentre was. It was close by someone said according to the news on the radio. Various sources of information said it was a 7.9 earthquake and the epicenter was in Birmingham. Birmingham is a very large city with thousands of households and businesses that lies many miles south of Sunderland. That night, nobody in our street dared to go to bed. It was quite a memorable night trying to stay awake. I along with my parents slept in chairs in our living room and even when there was the slightest movement slightly my mom panicked thinking it might be another earthquake. There were many interesting rumors people spread that night. Someone said the tiger from the zoo had escaped and was killing people. Some of my relatives who lived in Sunderland said that the BBC had announced on the radio that Washington will receive an earthquake of 9 on the Richter scale; there will also be a volcanic eruption in the valley of Fatfield. Although the tiger, the and earthquake was scary back then I find it funny quite funny now. Next morning, it was really horrifying to see pictures of devastated buildings, and other infrastructures in the newspaper. Hundreds of people had died, thousands were injured and many were left homeless. Even in my own village of Fatfield it was partially ruined. Our house is still standing thank goodness although there are cracks in the walls and ceiling which can be repaired. Some people are in desperate need of food and clean water as the Fatfield bridge collapsed during the earthquake and the lack of buses means they cannot get to the shops.
The nearby galleries is partly destroyed and the health center along with a number of other businesses have been destroyed. A medical treatment center has been set up by the Army reserves where the Art Center used to be, as its just a pile of rubble now. I was really amazed to here that there has been no support from the government at all, it was the same when we had the floods a while ago. Both the schools have been badly damaged to the delighted of many of our youngsters. There is also a complete blackout and the only means of any communications are limited to a few mobile phones. The government has not provided any help so far to the local villages. Some army helicopters were dispatched to fly over some of the remotest villages and dropped food and water along with tents. The lack of government actions have made the villagers and towns people have lost their faith in the government. But recently my dad told me that the government had just distributed food materials in huge amounts to some villages and small towns.
This earthquake gave me quite a number of experiences. I will always remember those sleepless nights in our sitting room lying on the floor on my mattress I salvaged from my bedroom. I will always remember how I ran scared and frightened even at a smallest rumbles of the quakes. I will still remember meals that we had together with all my neighbors sharing food. I will still remember my country’s prestigious historical sites that were turned into ruins. I will still remember how beautiful my country was and still is in some respects. My country and its people is crying now, but surely one day we will bounce back stronger and more prosperous than before. Stay strong my England.