Himom, are you ok???

[bcky2]

I know you live in Hawaii and was so worried about you when i heard the news. I pray that you are ok.

[daisymommy]

I have a best friend in Hawaii, with 2 kids the same ages as my own, and her phone is out of order. I'm scared for her :(

[MommyAllison]

I've been thinking about Angie (newmommy25) since I heard the news...hope she's ok!

Allison
Mama to DD 11/05

[himom]

Hi Mamas,

We're okay. Becky, thank you so much for thinking of us. It gave me warm fuzzies to know somebody was concerned. I'm truly touched!

Here's the loooong update.

The power was out all over the state and is very slowly being restored to different parts of the island. I'm not sure about Angie's (newmommy25) side of the island, they may not have power yet. There haven't been any major injuries reported so probably everybody is fine, they just might be sitting in the dark. A lot of 'net connections are down too, so she might not be able to update.

daisymommy - The phones have been operational all day, but the lines were very crowded so it has been hard to get through. Also, cordless or digital phones are useless without electricity so if you try to call someone who doesn't have an old-fashioned landline phone, you won't get through. But like I said, it looks like everybody is okay so far. I'm sure your friend and her family are just fine!

Oahu (where we are) was shaken pretty bad and we were scared but there was little damage. The only problems we had stemmed from a lack of power all day. We had a major storm late last night and through this morning so it was also raining hard during the quake, amplifying the terror factor. Plus, even though it was 7 am it was still pretty dark due to cloud cover so it was necessary to dig out flashlights, lamps, candles, etc for most of the morning.

The quake itself was so scary!!! I lived in L.A. for a few years so I'm not completely inexperienced when it comes to earthquakes. But this one really shocked me. I was born and raised here and I've never, ever felt a quake here.

I'm having Bad Mommy guilt today because I never taught Josh what to do in a quake...it just never occurred to me. He knows about fires, strangers, etc, but not earthquakes. He has a cold and was feverish, so he was in my bed cuddling with me when the quake went off. I jumped up to see if it was real (it was) then called him to come with me to go to the doorframe. He was too busy trying to hide under the comforter! I had to frantically dig him out and physically haul his little 40 pound self over to the door. Now he knows that when there's an earthquake, he's not supposed to hide. We did earthquake drills today to make sure. It helped during the aftershock that he knew what to expect the second time.

Meanwhile, the baby (in utero, 22 weeks) was going nuts and I had a little abdominal pain, probably from lifting, running, hitting the floor, etc. He's okay now and is thumping at me even as we speak, but I think I scared him. I guess it's true that stress and adrenaline rushes do affect these little guys.

It was a while before I could sit and rest because I was packing Josh's emergency bag, double-checking our emergency kit, calming him down, setting him up with his colors, etc. I'm so, so thankful to my Mom, who showed up within a half an hour with craft supplies and spent half the day making pumpkins, bats and ghosts and singing silly songs with us. She kept Josh happy and occupied and gave me a chance to make sure we were good to go with supplies, water, etc.

Overall, we're feeling very, very blessed. Things could have been so much worse, and now we have had a little preview of what to expect in another emergency. It turns out my emergency kit was missing some essentials, and now I know what they are and will be stocking them ASAP. I can't believe I didn't have any cash, and I was foolish enough to let my gas tank get low -- both big no-nos in this situation, as none of the gas pumps were working and the stores with supplies were running on cash only.

My aunt and uncle are on the Big Island and the situation there is not real good. They are safe, but their house is a disaster -- everything hit the ground, including shelves, cabinets and their contents, dressers, tvs, etc. Broken glass everywhere, and their house is shifting enough to have them fear structural damage. Please be in prayer for them and so many others on the Big Island who will be having a difficult time. Two hospitals had major structural damage and had to be at least partially evacuated, and a long-term care facility had to be shut down as well. This area is somewhat rural and is very tourism dependent so there are rough times ahead as they try to recover and re-build the tourism base.

Thanks again for thinking of us, and I hope everybody else checks in too. I think Jimnyo is on Oahu, and I know there are a few others from the state.

I'm going to bed, it's been a long day!

[chiqanita]

Wow what an ordeal. Glad you and your family are doing well. Be safe.

BTW, I am a native Angeleno and experienced many quakes, the first in the 60s...I saw my brother fly off his top bunk bed. I've also been on a freeway bridge during a quake, very bouncy. The worst was sitting in a car in a parking lot watching the pavement roll like an ocean wave. I was always relieved when I was in my home during a quake.

Here is some info that might come in handy.

http://www.conservation.ca.gov/index/Earthquakes/qh_earthquakes_what.htm

[punkrockmama]

himom-So glad to hear you and your family are okay.

For all the other HI mamas here on the boards--I hope you guys are safe and sound as well. Please do check in and give us an update!

Thinking of you all...

[kozachka]

Thinking of all the BBB HI mommys and their families. Hope everybody is safe. What is happening with the world lately with all the tsunamis and earthquakes?

[denna]

Sheila you couldnt have said it better. You are all in my thoughts and prayers. I am glad to hear that everything is alright and that there is lil damage where you are. Please keep us updated.

[luvmypeanut]

We are on Oahu (east Oahu) as well and it wasn't too bad. I lived in Tokyo for 10 years so I guess I got used to earthquakes but it's scarier now that I've got kids. We went out for milk and found quite a few places open. They were controlling the amount of people in the stores and everyone was nice and patien. At the grocery store I was able to even use a credit card. We have a small generator but only used it to charge DH's cell and the dvd player. Some friends stopped by and we got invited to a bbq. We got power back around midnight but I know other parts of the island got it back in the early afternoon. I'd really like to know how we lost power for the entire state. I can't remember ever losing power after a quake in Tokyo. Oh well. Everyone here took it in stride and I think it went pretty well. Lucky it was a Sunday and happened in the morning. Pray for the residents of the Big Island. I think they are in for a rough time.

[bcky2]

sorry, the only one i remembered living there was himom. im sorry, i feel bad that i forgot the others over there :(

[megs4413]

thinking of all of you....

[himom]

I guess next time there's an emergency I'm heading over to your side! We're in Mililani, and everything was cash only with crazy people stuffing their SUVs with anything they could carry.

We had everything we needed so we didn't even venture out until about noon, and by then things were a little loony. I think that was about the point where people started to worry there wouldn't be power for a few days and panic mode kicked in!

I'm so glad to be sitting at my computer, well-lit, with a nice fan blowing.

[luvmypeanut]

Well I'm so jealous you got power back early! We got ours at midnight and I hopped in the shower right away then onto the pc. My friend down the street in Aina Hina got her at 6am today. Glad everything is back to normal.