Day Five - After the Big One

We finally got electricity again late yesterday evening and since the aftershocks were reducing in strength and frequency, we decided it was safe to start sleeping in our home again instead of the tent.

But we were shocked this morning before daylight when the house started shaking again about 6:20 AM. That was a 6.3 and about the strongest we have felt since the big one last Saturday. Then at 7:31 we felt another one, not quite as strong but closer to us. It was a 5.1. Then as I'm typing this...I just to run outside again....about 8:47 AM we felt another strong one....shook the house, windows rattled, and my wife was outside and we both felt the ground shaking quite strongly under our feet. We will be so happy when these aftershocks are over. We're hearing on TV this last one minutes ago at about 8:47 AM was 6.8 magnitude. This is scary. You could physically see our house shaking. So, unfortunately for us, it seems these aftershocks are really earthquakes themselves, and are continuing and maybe even increasing in intensity. This latest 6.8 quake in red on the USGS map below is right over the area where we live. It will only take a slightly stronger one to knock out our electricity again. We hope that doesn't happen. Also, a stronger one could also cause more serious damage to our home. We are concerned. The 6.8 is much stronger than the 6.3 that woke us up this morning.