The 7.2 Easter Sunday Earthquake (Part 1)

It was the scariest Easter Sunday of my life...somehow I may never sleep again.

My day went well as planned...until around 3:40 PM. I went to a family gathering right near San Luis, Sonora. Me and my cousin Handy were having fun, chatting about Brianna, my aunt Nora's newest daughter. It was a ranch in the middle of nowhere, owned by my uncle Rodrigo.

Somehow, I felt a sudden vibrate on the ground, thinking one of my family members owns a giant monster truck. (lol). The vibrate became a small shake when I notified my mom that I was feeling an earthquake (I have the ability to feel earthquakes, even tiny ones). Then the shake became stronger, making me want to get up and hide somewhere. Everyone on my family started to panic. I went to the nearest pole to hold on to myself. Kids are getting scared. The huge shake lasted one full minute. It was officially an earthquake.

It lasted for one minute. I mean, that has to be stronger than 5.9, the strongest I've felt in my life. I had twitter enabled on my phone so I was able to ask my twitterers to see if they can get me info.

Two of my twitterers, James and DJ, sent me information about the recent earthquake. I was shocked. And believe it or not I was the one who got the information first. Radio station signals are very bad. I notified everyone the magnitude of the quake, first a 6.9. And epicenter was about 40 miles southwest of San Luis, AZ. we were actually a bit near the epicenter. Family members now panicked enough, but the aftershocks are rolling in...

An hour later or so, DJ sent me another direct message on twitter, along with others. The quake was upgraded to a 7.2. Woah.. 7.2? That's like 2 points ahead of Haiti. We surpassed Haiti? O_o

Cellphone service was limited. I was only limited to texting. If I weren't to be texting.. I wouldn't be twittering, and my friends would be very worried. Plus, My aunt Luli, whom I havent talked in FOREVER, found my number on facebook and texted me to see if all of us are alright. Facebook, you saved my life.

7.2 I did NOT want to see the damage caused in Mexicali.. or worse, in my house. O_o

Immediately, my aunt Claudia and uncle Jorge went back to Mexicali to pick up my cousin Tony, who stayed home during the quake. He said there was so much damage in the house...TV's were on the floor, etc.

The small aftershocks did not stop our Easter fun, such as Easter egg hunts, races, volleyball, etc. We weren't worried about the damage until it was time to go.

At 6 pm, it was time to go...

We packed everything, and headed back to Mexicali. Mexicali's electricity and water was out. Forcing the city to go waterless and powerless throughout the night. Most stores are closed, except for small grocery stores, which attracted aggressive and violent people, urging for batteries, and candles. Taco shops were packed as well, as gas mains were closed. It was pretty bad. I somehow wanted to escape. Cellphone usage was dead. I could not tweet/text.

We surveyed my grandma's house.. her room was damaged badly. Her drawers came out. and broke her largest mirror. Frames of my mom and aunts fell to the ground as well.

(Part 2 to come later on!)