I don't know how many of you have lived in earthquake country. I grew up on the San Andreas Faultline. You may have heard of the 1906 Earthquake in San Francisco - that was on the San Andreas fault. Certain earthquakes stick in my mind...
Loma Prieta when I was in a home built on solid rock (which isn't supposed to move in an earthquake) and over 130 miles away. The force was strong enough to pitch me across the sink where I was washing my hands, and slam my head in to the wall, and then pitch me backwards again... it lasted long enough for this to happen and then for me to regain my footing, make my way to the doorjam and have my Mom start yelling at me - we had a whole conversation. It was altogether terrifying. My brother and my Dad were in San Francisco where it was much worse. That one registered 6.9 on the Richter. It was 11 miles deep. It cost 4.4 billion to rebuild a region that was prepared to handle a large earthquake.
Every other memorable earthquake was much smaller but we were much closer to the center. They were in the 3-5 range (minor to light)... beds sliding across the floors and bouncing off walls; books flying off the shelves and across rooms; feeling like a semi slammed in to the house - and getting up to check what the hell happened when the floor started rippling like water; the horrifying noise; Coral trying to hid under the blankets as a little kid, not knowing what in the world was going on, me trying to calmly coax her out and rush her under the table/under the doorway. These were truly minor earthquakes, but for some the effects were a bit greater as we were on the 3rd, 4th, or 7th floor and the buildings swayed which amplified the motion... others it was ground level and equally scary.
My point is this - they were minor experiences, no deaths, minor property damage... and yet we rank them all as earthquakes. The aftershocks experienced there were immediate and truly minor - most not even registering high enough to be recorded. Haiti is so different.
Don't diminish or reduce the horrifying reality the Haitians are experiencing by referring to this new extremely intense earthquake as an aftershock. The epicenter was 32 miles away from Port-au-Prince and only 6 miles deep. It registered 6.1 - which is considered strong and can cause destruction for about 100 miles. The structures that were standing were already weakened by the earthquake last week... and now more are falling. The people have had a week to recover and try to gain a sense of their surrounds and grasp their losses, when suddenly it happens all over again. They have had a second earthquake... not some minor shifting. It may not be a game changer - it's definitely not an improvement and I'm hard pressed to think - big picture - of how things could get much worse - but for the individuals on the ground, those still searching for their loved ones, living in fear of looters, without food, water, shelter, or necessary medicine - this earthquake is a tremendous blow. There is no guarantee of safety or that things will get better any time soon. More buildings collapsed, more destruction, more injuries, more delays, more deaths.
Please - donate. Whichever organization you want to turn to - please do it now.
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