The Wenchuan Earthquake was a colossal event that changed the lives of so many people in China’s Sichuan Province. These are my thoughts and recollections of the event on that day and the weeks that followed.

The date is forever etched in my memory. May the 12^th, 2008, it was a normal Monday as I began my busy afternoon schedule of classes. It is a date that was quickly forgotten by many people around the world, but it still hangs over the lives of those who lost all or part of their family.

The earthquake struck at 2.28pm, just as I began my afternoon classes. I typically used a memory stick connected through the school system to a large screen. All but two of my classes utilized this system, this was one of those two and I had connected my laptop to the school’s system so these students did not miss out. As I was busily setting up my laptop, I became aware that the desk was rocking slightly. At first I thought it was a student on the other side of the desk becoming a little too excited over the upcoming presentation.

I quickly realized, however, that the rest of the room and the buildings around us were moving. It was time for everyone to get out. Most of the students didn’t need telling, as they were already heading for the exit. We were on the second floor, so one flight of steps down and we were safely away from any buildings.

The buildings continued to sway to and fro. It lasted two or three minutes, but felt like a lot longer. Some students remained in the classroom, standing, literally frozen to the spot. Many students were already outside and safe; my concern now was for the ones left behind, so I stayed there with them. As suddenly as it started, it stopped. There was lots of screaming and shouting going on outside, the silence inside had an eerie surreal feel about it. Was it real, had that just happened? One image of that day I will always remember is of a teenage boy, one of my students, and the look of terror on his face. Once the buildings had stopped shaking I led him and the few remaining students outside.

Wenchuan Earthquake PIC: JS

My wife was also teaching here and I looked around until we spotted each other. She was in the classroom directly above mine. All was well. All the students were by now outside. It was amazing that there were no serious injuries; the damage looked minimal in this area. Lisa’s teenage daughter was at home in our apartment, we looked across and all looked ok there as well. Erica (Lisa’s daughter) later told us she had hidden under the table.

It was quickly evident that somewhere had been hit really badly. We hoped for the best, but feared the worst. We then had to return to the classroom to complete the lesson. It was not much of a lesson as all the students were too excited and the adrenaline was running high. As I had my laptop and the electricity supply was working, I began showing some fun video clips and music videos. One of the intros to a video clip asked what killed the dinosaurs. Quick as a flash, one student suggested it was an earthquake, I do love the humour and quick wit of some students.

Wenchuan Earthquake PIC: JS

During the ten minute break before the final class of the afternoon, all the students were assembled outside to hear an announcement. I was getting an instant translation from a student. The message said the epicenter was close to Chengdu, I was worried for them, we had friends living there. The translation continued, there were many casualties and aftershocks should be expected. The next and final part of the message did not need translating: classes were cancelled for the rest of the day and everyone should stay away from any buildings until told it is safe.

Erica was looking out of the window of our apartment, we gestured that she should joined us. During the remainder of the afternoon, we played ping pong, badminton and sat talking to our students. A later announcement wrongly said the epicenter was close to Tibet. It was measured as 7.8, then 7.9 before it was finally adjusted to being 8.0. During the evening the students had to return to their classrooms, we were at first surprised by this: a natural disaster occurs and everything returns to normal a few hours later? But then what else can you do with 9,000 students? Putting them in the classroom means they are accounted for.

Wenchuan Earthquake PIC: JS

At a little after 7 pm, the all clear was given and we were allowed to return to our apartment. We were told about the possibility of aftershocks, but were amazed when we still had an internet connection. We then began the task of informing everyone we knew back home that we were safe. We knew that this event had to have been reported across the world and didn’t want anyone to unnecessarily worry about us.

When we had finished sending emails, we began looking at the news sites to see what was being reported. We received confirmation of where the epicenter was, and it was less than 200 miles away. That evening was a mixture of emotions, the relief for all of us of being unscathed and the sadness for all those who were missing. Another factor, the high number of schoolchildren and teachers unaccounted for after so many schools were flattened in the earthquake. Had we been employed by a different company, we could so easily have been so much closer and affected in a different way.

At around 10pm that same evening, the first of many aftershocks began. The aftershocks continued throughout the evening, some large and others less so. It got to the point where there were so many aftershocks that you did not know if they were real or imaginary. I kept a bottle of water on my desk, if the water moved it was real. Another aftershock occurred at 4am; I was sleeping and didn’t feel it. Lisa was astounded I managed to sleep through it. A knock on the door followed, everyone was to go outside and when everyone was accounted for we could return to our beds.

Wenchuan Earthquake PIC: JS

The previous evening I had answered a message from the BBC in London, while checking my emails that morning there was a reply from them. They wanted me to speak to them directly at 8.15 that morning; I sent a hurried reply stating I would be in class at that time so could not talk to them. I did wonder what they thought of everyone continuing the next day as normally as possible.

There were still lots of aftershocks, often this would lead to all the students filing outside, normal classes were impossible. Lots of students were troubled by recent events and many would not sleep in their dormitories. On the afternoon after the earthquake there was a thunderstorm, the loud crack of thunder sent some students towards the door. As they filed back in, the relief and laughter was evident in this latest false alarm.

The weekend after the earthquake we were in Chengdu on a pre-arranged trip. During that weekend, there were dozens of aftershocks. It was at this time that we decided enough was enough; we would complete our contracts then leave that summer. At the end of that weekend, there had been over 400 aftershocks with a few measured as being as high as 6.0 on the Richter scale.

Wenchuan Earthquake PIC: JS

On Monday afternoon, exactly one week after the initial shock, there was a memorial service on TV for those that died, were missing or injured. It was impeccably observed by all the students in my class, many were openly crying, others in silence with their heads bowed. The rest of that afternoon it was difficult to teach. I was getting an increased feeling of “I don’t want to be here anymore.” I could see many of the students did not want to be at school either.

We eventually left Wenchuan on the 15^th of July; lots of students told us they were surprised we stayed that long. When we arrived in Sichuan province, we were not aware we were even in earthquake territory. Prior to 2008 there had not been a serious earthquake in the province since the 1930’s. By November 2008, there had been more than 40,000 reported aftershocks.