Panic and the earthquake that never was

      I said in the previous post, this has been the wettest wet season in 30 years and it is still raining


      About 2 weeks ago during torrential rains from the tale end of a typhoon, the village was in panic, everyone was preparing to evacuate, we were all going to be swollowed in into the ground. The wife comes to me to say that we have to pack the car to get out fast, if the warning sirens go off. Now I am confused, first I ask what warning sirens and a warning for what. Seems the sub district Governor has swished on or put in sirens in the local public announcement system. For those who don't know, Thailand has a PA system in each village. This is mostly used by the local headman to address the village on local issues, normally at about 6 in the morning.


     The father in-law and brother in-law,  both work for the Government. they are now dressed in their best uniforms and are off to an emergency meeting with the Sub District Governor and village heads.  Many of the villagers have moved their cars to what they perceive to be safer places and the rest have packed up to go. I am more confused than ever. The wife, who by now is in full panic mode, keeps saying we should get the kids and go, I keep asking where are we supposed to evacuate to and from what. The only answer I get, is everyone knows that there is a thing in the ground that causes earthquakes.


       Now it begins to dawn on me what it is all about. There is a small fault, that runs through the 3 villages on our road. It is no  pacific ring of fire, just some type of geological fault where the mountains meet the flat lands, or something like that.
The locals have know about it for years and never cared.. We do not have earth tremors and such, but with the coming of electricity and television, the village has seen news of earthquakes and tsunamis in Japan, New Zealand and China. So we are doomed to a major earthquake. I ask the wife, who has predicted the earthquake. as I know that the science is far from exact, on earthquake predictions. She tells me it is on the radio and the Government is telling people to prepare to evacuate the area. We have only 2 radio stations and they are single man operations, not BBC or CNN affiliates.


      The brother in-law returns, he  not only has a nice uniform, but is also the emergency first response fireman and rescue chief. His news is bleak, the bridges  are under water or damaged by the floods. There is no way out. Word spreads fast and the villagers are now out in the street waiting for the father in-law to return from the emergency meeting, as he will tell them what to do. The other brother in-law and many of the villagers with cars have already fled to places unknown in the jungle. The wife, kids and mother in-law are in the car ready to go on the old mans return. Our pick up truck is ready to take the neighbors. She is telling me to get in, I say I am not going anywhere, you are all off your heads, there is no earthquake coming, As is normal she says I don't understand, but the army will come and get me and anyone who is left here later. I look at her and say how is the army going to get here when there is no bridges.


      Father in-law returns, everyone is waiting, word has spread that the evacuation siren has gone of in the last village and the army is on the way. The father in-law asks me if I can check on the inter-net to get the latest reports. There are no latest reports, there are no warnings at all, either on the net or the TV. The father in-law is waiting for the sub Governor to tell him what to do, the Sub Governor is waiting for someone up the chain to tell him. That someone is probably running around trying to find out what the hell is happening.


      The rain has stopped and night has fallen, the village is still standing. The panic has subsided. With the wife translating for the father in-law the story of the days events unfolds. Just as in the Orson Welles radio broadcast war of the worlds, a radio broadcast started it all.
       The forestry department issued a warning about landslides in the mountains and flash floods.
      The 2 local radio stations broadcast the warnings, but mudslides became sink holes and underground rivers were going to collapse the upper soils.
      The Sub district Governor hearing the radio warnings put 2 and 2 together and came up with 5. All the rain was going to fill the fault and cause an earthquake. So he sets up the emergency siren system.    
      The radio stations are told about the sirens and begin to broadcast that the Government has set them up, for the impending earthquake, that will occur from the heavy rains and everyone should prepare to evacuate the area.
      The border and forestry soldiers have left there river side camps, which are subject to flash floods and moved into the safer bases near the 3 villages. The army is coming.
      Now we have  the radio telling everyone that not only is there going to be flooding and some landslides in the mountains, but the Government has put out earthquake warnings and the army is on the move to help out in the evacuation.


       Outside of the 3 villages on this dead end road into the jungle no one knew what was happening. A simple phone call in the beginning would have put it all to rest, but asking questions is not the Thai way.