A Whole lot of Shakin' Goin' On!

Close to home (here in Australia) we had news earlier today, of a rather large (for this region) earthquake, in neighbouring New Zealand. The 'quake' measured 6.8 on the richter scale and at least 20 people were reportedly injured.

Meanwhile, half a world away my daughter and her two children (along with the surrounding population) have been placed on 'earthquake alert'. In her own words, my daughter describes the current situation in Chile:

"We've been put on warning, for a month of quakes and told not to rule out a big one; big of course being 7 or greater. I've packed my emergency bag and it's sitting under the dining table, where I'll be hiding out if we do indeed have a big one.

Last night, shortly after midnight, we had 2 quakes, a 5.3 followed by a 4.9 20 minutes after the first. Then came all the preparations waiting for 'the big one' that everyone is expecting. It didn't come.

We're all packed up with important documents and valuable items stuffed into backpacks. We've got water saved in pots, and I slept with my shoes on - when I was eventually able to sleep."

Well ... suffice to say, it's as though I'm living in two different time zones at the moment and wishing I was in South America with my daughter and her children.

My daughter's two children

You feel pretty helpless at times like this, and realise all over again:

"... you can't always protect your kids from harm ... no matter how hard you try"!!