For our final trio prompt of the year, write about any topic you wish, but make sure your post features a bookcase, something cracked, and a song you love.
Next Saturday 28th December at 1027, it is 25 years since Newcastle was hit by a 5.6 magnitude earthquake. It was a day I and most Novocastrians will never forget.
I was awaken suddenly as I had been on night duty. Initially, I had thought my terrace was collapsing. I blamed the pillars of the terrace next door thinking they had cracked, causing it to fall. Either way I had to get out. I didn’t know what was going on but I was getting out.
I bolted down my moving stairs only to see my bookcases and plaster walls crashing to the floor. I rushed out onto the street just in time to see the steeple on the local church collapse.
Then the sirens began. They wailed all day and night. I lived in the damaged zone and major rescue efforts were underway. It was a scary time. The main hospital was evacuated and people were cared for on the lawns outside. Everyone did what they could.
This week our city remembers the 13 people who died on this tragic day, grateful this number wasn’t higher due to the time of year. The following song celebrates the power of our town as we supported each other through a difficult time in our history.
And we have built it up stronger than before.