My Earthquake Experience

I was in Lima when the earthquake hit on October 3, 1974. We were visiting the home of a member of the bishopric that morning. It was a newer home in a nice neighborhood.

I remember sitting on the couch and we felt the rumbling under our feet. At first we waited a few seconds for it to pass since vibrations were rather common. But the rumbling didn’t stop. It got stronger. We all stood up and moved to an archway separating the living room from the dining room.

As we stood in the archway we could see out the front window and into the street. The sidewalk was moving up and down in a wave-like motion. The park across the street was also rolling like an ocean wave, rising and falling noticeably.

The news reports say it lasted 2 minutes and 15 seconds and was a 7.7 magnitude. There was no major damage to the house.

We left the house soon after and immediately went to the church. There were a few cracks in the walls. We checked on our landlady and our house was fine as well. The rest of the day was spent checking on church members and friends. We really didn’t see any structural damage or injuries in our area.

The next day we went to downtown Lima and discovered some damage in the older sections of town. Some of the buildings had second-story wooden balconies that stuck out three or four feet from the side of the building. Many of those were collapsed or shifted.

Here are some photos from the papers.

This is a mausoleum that crumbled during the earthquake, leaving caskets exposed. Creepy!

~Dad H