We moved to Istanbul last January and I'm still trying to get use to a lot of things here. It's a big city with lot's of people, traffic and the risk of earthquakes. My husband actually lived through the 7.6 magnitude earthquake that shook Turkey in 1999, killing 17,000 people. Anyways, living in the U.S we've never had earthquake drills, so I've never really experienced an earthquake and have no idea what to do?
This summer while we were at a friends house a smaller earthquake shook Istanbul and I just stood there trying to understand what was happening. It was like someone was just rocking us back and forth. So that was my first encounter and I've been paranoid ever since to the point where I sleep dressed, ready to fly out the house if I have to and always have my glasses by my bedside and I wear contacts and never wear my glasses.
I've always thought in my head and scared myself about being home alone and an earthquake happening. Yesterday, my husband went out at night and I was home alone. I was just laying on the couch watching something on the laptop and I felt it shaking. First thing I thought was earthquake and jumped off the couch with my phone in my hand and ran under the living rooms door frame. I looked up at my pendant lights and they too were shaking. It wasn't extreme and nothing fell down but I wasn't dressed to fly out the door so I thought that I should get dressed ASAP in case it gets worse.
My walk in closet has the large Pax wardrobe that's not mounted on the wall so I ran in and just grabbed whatever and changed in the hallway and put on my contacts. I called my husband freaked out and he said he doubts that it was an earthquake because he didn't feel anything. I told him I was scared and he said even if it was an earthquake it won't be stronger then the first one and the aftershocks will be smaller. I got off the phone and checked the internet and indeed it was a 4.5 magnitude earthquake. My husband told me to use the stairs incase I need to evacuate the building, but we live on the 9th floor and I would be freaked out to use the stairs during an earthquake and obviously wouldn't use the elevator.
Fortunately, we live in the penthouse so there aren't anymore floors over us besides the terrace. Anyways, I realized that being paranoid isn't going to help the reality of an earthquake in anyway and I'm not prepared and have no idea whats so ever of what to do during one.
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