Surviving the Great Earthquake – 2012 Costa Rica Earthquake

Three months into our new tropical life in Costa Rica, my wife and I were living in a small second-floor apartment in the backyard of the lovely Tico family in a quiet little beach town on the coast of Guanacaste. My wife was busy as the new president of an educational nonprofit in town. Her days were filled with meetings with community members, coordinating a variety of classes, and dealing with a group of young expat volunteers who made up the majority of the staff.

My schedule, on the other hand, was much more open. I didn’t have a job, I didn’t speak Spanish, and the only person I knew in the entire country was busy holding meetings, coordinating classes, and chasing after young people. So most days I spent either sitting under a big tree on the beach trying to learn Spanish from a pile of books or literally walking for miles just looking at things.

The morning of September 5, 2012, was like most mornings in the previous three months. My wife was pacing around the apartment getting ready for a busy day ahead, and I was getting ready for one 30-minute appointment that day: my weekly Spanish lesson with my Spanish teacher, Yvette. I had studied hard under my tree the week before, and I had a notebook full of questions that needed answering if I was to make sense of what was happening around me.

At 8:42 a.m. I was brushing my teeth and walking around the living room, and the entire apartment started shaking. It shook and shook and shook for about 45 seconds. I felt the building shake. I noticed furniture moving. I watched a vase fall from the top shelf of a bookcase and smash to the floor. Eventually the shaking stopped, and my wife looked at me, visibly shaking. As she looked at me, the fear in her eyes slowly turned to confusion. “You never stopped brushing your teeth.”

For some reason, what I later learned was a generally accepted terrifying event didn’t scare me. I realized it was an earthquake, and just waited for it to be over, apparently while brushing my teeth the entire time. After the supposedly scary part was over, I didn’t know what I was supposed to do, so I figured I’d go to the only appointment I had that day and started walking across town to Evatt’s house. I passed a number of frightened people on the street, including the daughter of the family we lived in the yard with. She was coming home from school crying, and I wanted to say something reassuring, but I didn’t know any of the words yet, so I waved my hand.

When I arrived at Yvette’s house, she greeted me on her front porch, completely puzzled by my presence. “There’s been an earthquake,” she said, looking at me, “Class is cancelled,” and then adding, “You’re crazy!” At this point, I realized that I was acting too calm and that I should probably try to be helpful in some way. I ended up helping my wife gather and comfort all the volunteers at her organization who were in shock from the morning’s events.

The 7.6 magnitude earthquake was the second most powerful earthquake in Costa Rica’s history. Although the epicenter was in Nicoya, it was felt in Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Panama. The quake killed two people, knocked out power, and caused $45 million in damage, making it a traumatic event for many who witnessed it, especially in Guanacaste. That is, if you felt the right emotions at the right time.

About the author

Vincent Losasso, founder of Guanacaste Wildlife Monitoring, is a biologist who works with camera traps throughout Costa Rica. Learn more about his projects on Facebook or Instagram. You can also email him at: [email protected]

What Are The Main Benefits Of Comparing Car Insurance Quotes Online

LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / June 24, 2020, / Compare-autoinsurance.Org has launched a new blog post that presents the main benefits of comparing multiple car insurance quotes. For more info and free online quotes, please visit https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/the-advantages-of-comparing-prices-with-car-insurance-quotes-online/ The modern society has numerous technological advantages. One important advantage is the speed at which information is sent and received. With the help of the internet, the shopping habits of many persons have drastically changed. The car insurance industry hasn't remained untouched by these changes. On the internet, drivers can compare insurance prices and find out which sellers have the best offers. View photos The advantages of comparing online car insurance quotes are the following: Online quotes can be obtained from anywhere and at any time. Unlike physical insurance agencies, websites don't have a specific schedule and they are available at any time. Drivers that have busy working schedules, can compare quotes from anywhere and at any time, even at midnight. Multiple choices. Almost all insurance providers, no matter if they are well-known brands or just local insurers, have an online presence. Online quotes will allow policyholders the chance to discover multiple insurance companies and check their prices. Drivers are no longer required to get quotes from just a few known insurance companies. Also, local and regional insurers can provide lower insurance rates for the same services. Accurate insurance estimates. Online quotes can only be accurate if the customers provide accurate and real info about their car models and driving history. Lying about past driving incidents can make the price estimates to be lower, but when dealing with an insurance company lying to them is useless. Usually, insurance companies will do research about a potential customer before granting him coverage. Online quotes can be sorted easily. Although drivers are recommended to not choose a policy just based on its price, drivers can easily sort quotes by insurance price. Using brokerage websites will allow drivers to get quotes from multiple insurers, thus making the comparison faster and easier. For additional info, money-saving tips, and free car insurance quotes, visit https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/ Compare-autoinsurance.Org is an online provider of life, home, health, and auto insurance quotes. This website is unique because it does not simply stick to one kind of insurance provider, but brings the clients the best deals from many different online insurance carriers. In this way, clients have access to offers from multiple carriers all in one place: this website. On this site, customers have access to quotes for insurance plans from various agencies, such as local or nationwide agencies, brand names insurance companies, etc. "Online quotes can easily help drivers obtain better car insurance deals. All they have to do is to complete an online form with accurate and real info, then compare prices", said Russell Rabichev, Marketing Director of Internet Marketing Company. CONTACT: Company Name: Internet Marketing CompanyPerson for contact Name: Gurgu CPhone Number: (818) 359-3898Email: [email protected]: https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/ SOURCE: Compare-autoinsurance.Org View source version on accesswire.Com:https://www.Accesswire.Com/595055/What-Are-The-Main-Benefits-Of-Comparing-Car-Insurance-Quotes-Online View photos