Tremors & Aftermath Shakes Me

I had forgotten to blog about our office experience of an aftermath of the 2Nd earthquake of a magnitude of 6.8 that hit Sumatera at 9.53am. Well since everyone had already left office day b4 yesterday when the first earthquake actually occurred, none of us felt the tremors of that although a few parts of JB was said to have felt it. I was still on the road driving back home at that time so it would not be easy to have felt the tremors even tough they were happening. However yesterday sitting on my desk at around 10am or so I felt a very strange feeling. Its almost a feeling someone sitting in a ship in the middle of sea would feel. I felt instantly sick and nauseous and actually thought that it was my diet that was doing this to me. I manage to bring my concentration level back to my work however I suspected something amiss when the water the bottle sitting on my desk was shaking without any reason. This puzzled me as my computer desk is very stable and therefore the water should not shake as it was. I walked up to my clerks and colleague alerted them. When we looked out of the window, we noticed that all occupants of our near by buildings were evacuating so we closed our office and coolly made our way down. We were out from office for about one over hour when the building managers deemed it safe to go back in again. No other incidents as such occurred again after that but having never gone thru this before I was pretty shaken and sick after that. I just wondered if I was feeling like that just with some tremors, how about those who are actually in Padang, Sumatera who bore the actual brunt of the earthquake. Is it God's way to do math, I am not sure but I pray for the souls who have perished, those who are in critical conditions, those who have lost family members and to those who have very little food and drinking water. MAY GOD BLESS AND PROTECT ALL!

Just to bring all reading to level as to why we working in Komtar fear that the tremors may affect Komtar (where our office is located on the 21st Floor) Komtar is actually supposed to be a 4 storey shopping complex and a 26 floor office tower resting on the foundations of the complex. Due to refurbishing work, the complex was totally torn down and what is left a hollow square on which the 26 floored office building rests upon so when it comes to tremors we take no chances!

NST 2/10/2009

Cracks in 5 buildings after tremors

KUALA LUMPUR: The earthquake in Padang, Sumatra, on Wednesday left minor cracks in several buildings in Peninsular Malaysia. Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha said yesterday the Fire and Rescue Department received calls from residents of 47 high-rise buildings that felt the tremors.Checks by the department's staff showed minor cracks in five buildings in the Klang Valley, Bernama quoted Kong as saying in Ipoh yesterday."The cracks in the five buildings were found to be not serious after checks by engineers and the relevant authorities." In Putrajaya, hairline cracks appeared in several government buildings and homes.Putrajaya Public Works Department director Datuk Abdul Rahim Ahmad, however, assured residents there was no need to worry.He had referred the matter to the city's developer and said the building structures were able to withstand minor tremors as the piling foundation was sturdy."We have only received complaints of minor cracks from residents in two units of a government quarters apartment block in Presint 14 and government buildings in Parcel C."Our officers have thoroughly checked all premises and concluded that the damage to buildings doesn't pose a threat to inhabitants."Rahim said repair work commenced yesterday.Resident Mazuadi Mustafar, 27, who lives on the 15th floor of the Presint 14 apartments affected the most, said he barely slept a wink that night worrying that the building may collapse.His elderly neighbour, Sheikh Aziz Sheikh Said, 74, whose apartment unit bears cracks as an aftermath of the tremors, said they had immediately packed their bags even after the authorities declared it safe in case the building collapsed.

In Johor Baru, precautionary measures were taken at several high-rise buildings, with those inside told to evacuate when tremors were felt for a second day in a row. Among buildings where the occupants were told to evacuate were Menara MAA, Plaza Kotaraya, Hotel Selesa, Landmark Mall, City Square office tower, Menara Ansar and Komtar. Also affected were government office buildings at Wisma Persekutuan.The Johor Fire and Rescue Department received reports of tremors at more than 10 high-rise buildings in the city centre from 10am.

All That We Have Are Memories

Death is not extinguishing the light; it is putting out the lamp because dawn has come. Author --- Rabindranath Tagore

I was just sitting down yesterday and managing my Diwali sms wish list. I was putting all my friends and family who celebrate diwali into one folder in my contacts so that when it comes to sending out Diwali greetings it would be much easier. I almost reached the end of my contacts when I realised what I had done. I had also included the numbers of my mama who passed on one month ago (2nd September 2009) and my dearest friend Lachman who passed on 2 years ago (14th July 2007). What surprised me was that after 2 years I still have Lachman's number. Maybe because I always have this bizarre thought that one day I will call and might just hear his voice at the end of the other line. Never going to happen I know but sometimes it is nice to think that nothing is impossible in life. If impossibilities becomes integral in life, it would be impossible to live. When I was posted to Putrajaya I used to think how nice it would be to still have my grandparents house in Rahang, Seremban. I wd travel daily. Even though no one is around anymore, just staying in the house would have been a joy. It is so strange how even today I close my eyes I can still imagine every nook and cranny of that house and all the time I have spent there. The house is no longer where it is. All that is left is a plot covered with thick bushes. The kampung is almost unrecognisable. The sandy roads have been replaced by tar, the papan houses with brick. The yellow buses are far n few in between where once there used to be many. There is no longer the smell emanating from Lee Rubber, the smell that never bothered us but would have disturb many. The biscuit factory just sits there motionless. The cow sheds have vanished just like their owners. The river has dried up where once water flowed. The infamous scary wooden bridge that we had to cross which connected us to the other side of the kampung where the shops used to be has disappeared almost as if saying that our present can never ever be connected back to our past life. It holds as reminder to say that everything changes but change itself. My ultimate dream is to build a house exactly like what our Seremban house was. Wish me luck. Now whenever I pass a signboard that says either Seremban or Pontian, my heart says visit but my mind automatically asks WHO? I have always been listening to my heart so the next time I pass such signage I will visit......not the people but their abundant MEMORIES that is left behind. Nanaji, Nanima, Great Nanima, Dadaji, Dadima, Mamaji and Lachman. Rest in pecae and HAPPY DIWALI in advance.