Duck and Cover!

I was up in Chiang Saen for the weekend, competing in a duathlon and triathlon.  Chiang Saen is about a four hour drive from Chiang Mai:

(Thank you Google Maps)

On Thursday night, around 9pm, the little wood bungalow on stilts where I was staying started shaking.  Wow, that’s a pretty strong water pump that just turned on, I thought.  But the shaking kept on going, getting stronger and stronger, and my California childhood training came rushing back into my brain — DUCK AND COVER!

I have felt earthquakes in Chiang Mai before, most of them fairly small.  This one was no little “Oh was that a little earthquake? Did you feel it?”  It was more like, “Yes this is an earthquake and I know that everyone is feeling it!”  The epicenter turned out to be 90 kilometers (56 miles) north of Chiang Rai (see that on the map???), earning a 6.8 on the richter scale.  Throughout the night and over the next two and a half days (and nights) there were tremors, some pretty decent sized, and more frequent than I ever remembered in CA growing up.  Must be a rather hyperactive fault line.

While there was no (publicized, major) damage in Chiang Mai, there were ripped up roads and collapsed buildings further north in Thailand.  Burma took the greatest hit, but it is hard to find accurate, forthcoming news from that nation.  I did hear of a Lahu tribe church that was celebrating their 50th anniversary, and the building collapsed, killing dozens of people.

Several friends have asked how I am, and I am fine.  Thank you though for thinking of Thailand and praying for Thailand and Burma at this time.  May God’s power be shown and His name glorified in the midst of destruction and tragedy.