a tsunami alert

It was 3:30am when Thompson came into the room and woke us up. He was talking rapidly, inserting Portugese words into his sentences. I was confused, bleary eyed, and wondered why I was awake when the view from my window was pitch black. Thompson quickly rattled off that there had been a earthquake near Alaska and now there was a tsunami alert, and we had to go to the Max Bell. And to dress warm.

Next door you could hear people talking, and from outside as well. I pulled on clothes and walked up. There was a stream of people going up, and it was lightly raining. Once in the Max Bell, we sat in our rooms, and waited for more information.

Ty gave us an update about 15 minutes after we got there, and told us that at around 1am there had been a earthquake off the coast of Alaska and a tsunami warning for 3 hours later was in place for the British Columbia southern coast. We were waiting for the Metchosin Fire Department to call and let us know that the warning had been cancelled which happened at around 4:30am.

Apart from a few jokes about just having a village gathering there and then, the hour went by pretty slowly. I was far too exhausted to even talk to people, but others were flitting around talking and laughing. But, it was an exciting time. It occurred to me today, talking to Annie Dina and Cindy, that not once did I ever feel unsafe, or worried, or nervous. I was just thinking that I was safe, and there was going to be a tsunami. Unfortunately, due to the more horizontal nature of the plates' movement, there was a tsunami no taller than 20cm.

Then we were done, and the first two blocks were cancelled, and we went to bed. I fell asleep soundly, not waking up till 9:30, which was the best feeling I'd had in a while.

Now, I am waiting for a power cut that lasts a few days!