Welcome South Korea! We hope you enjoy our blog.
오신 것을 환영합니다 한국 ! 우리는 당신이 우리 의 블로그를 즐기시기 바랍니다.
osin geos-eul hwan-yeonghabnida hangug ! ulineun dangsin-i uli ui beullogeuleul jeulgisigi balabnida.
Showing posts with label Earthquake. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Earthquake. Show all posts
Sunday, July 17, 2016
Monday, May 30, 2016
From Ecuador to the United States - Overmans Home for Christmas
Dear Readers of Our Blog.
After surviving a devastating earthquake in Ecuador, we desperately want to go to see our family and friends for Christmas back home in the United States. We have set up a GoFundMe account to try to achieve that goal.
Last year we decided to move to the coast of Ecuador. This decision was reached after a lot of research and soul searching about what and where our lives needed to be. We chose the small fishing village of Crucita Ecuador, in the Manabi province. There is no mail delivery in Crucita. No large stores. No malls. The electricity goes out a lot. But the land and the people are beautiful. It is a simple life. We were very happy.
On April 16th, at about 7:00 pm we were watching a movie when we heard a loud boom, as if someone had just dropped 20 ton boulder next to our house. Then the house began to violently shake back and forth, as the booming sound increased. I did not even realize I had fallen to ground when I heard my husband Jason yell, we have to get out of here, it's an earthquake. I know I was in shock. I also know that in a split second I had to make the decision to leave my cats and run out of the house as quickly as possible.
We were safe for the moment. We found some of our friends/neighbors. They were safe too. We later found out that one of our neighbors who we did not know personally, had been struck fatally by falling debris.
The next few days were a total blur. More earthquakes occurred. No water. No electricity. No phones. No place to buy food. We had no way to contact our family back in the United States to let them know we were okay. We have friends in Portoviejo. We had no way to know if they were okay. Portoviejo is where we go to shop for food and supplies. As with many of the roads and highways, the road to Portoviejo was collapsed. A car had fallen into it. I do not even know if the people survived. I hope that they are okay.
 |
| El Centro Portoviejo - where we used to shop |
We are basically cut off from the surrounding towns. Even if we can get to them, the places where we shopped are gone. There are plenty of tiendas (little stores) here in Crucita and they eventually began to open. They run out of items quickly. Cat food is nearly impossible to find. When we do, it is almost $3 for a 2 cup bag of food. We have four cats.
We are getting by as best as we can. It is costing us more to live here right now. The added expenses are making things difficult. I know things will get better, as things do after a natural disaster. I just do not know when.
 |
| The road to Portoviejo from our village Crucita. |
What I do know is that we are barely getting by right now. There is no way we can afford to fly home to the United States in December. The prices of airline tickets continue to rise. The availability of tickets continue to decrease. If we are not able to buy tickets in the next month or two, we will not be able to see our family and friends in December. This will be equally devastating for us and for our family. We cannot express how much we miss them. We know they are missing us and have been so worried about us since the earthquake occurred. We are hoping to have a happy reunion in December.
Thank you for taking the time to read our story. If you or someone you know can help us make it possible to get back to the United States, by making a donation to GoFundMe, we will not only be grateful, but we promise to show our appreciation for your kindness by paying it forward. When we are financially able, every penny you donate to us, we will donate to other families in need.
We thank you for all your support.
We thank you for all your support.
 |
| A monument to the fisherman of Crucita |
Friday, April 29, 2016
Tamera's Take: Terremoto, Did you know this could happen? And...The Truth.
Questions? E-mail us!
Tamera's Take is about being here.
Are you ready? I am.
I am?
This is a question that I have been asked, and I have asked myself, many times since our arrival in Crucita Ecuador.
Is it everything you thought it would be?
And most recently;
Did you know this could happen?
To these questions I always answer the truth, regardless of who is asking.
For the past 12 days I struggled with the truth. What is the struggle? The struggle is that I am caught between the need to tell the truth; the need to not terrify our family and friends any more than they have already been terrified; the need to be respectful of the people who are probably in the worst situation of their life; and my own belief of what is the truth.
So here are some truths:
If you have not read any of my previous entries, this would normally be the place where I talk about something that happened to me in my childhood. I try to tie it into whatever my point is for that blog, and then add a few pictures to keep it interesting. Props. That is what I do. I use props. It seems necessary because I am not a writer. My husband is the writer.
There will be no correlation between my youth and present day events. There will be no cute pictures of cats. Strangely, I struggle with that too.
I am writing as much for me, as I am for you.
Since the earthquake (terremoto) occurred, I felt every emotion humanly possible.
Each time that we were faced with something that we were not sure how to handle, I had to force myself to remain calm.
The phrase, "remember to be thankful for what you have, because someone else may have it worse than you", could not have been more true. Except that I did not feel thankful.
It is important to not just remember, but know that 600+ people lost their lives; 12,000+ people were injured; 26,000+ people are homeless and slept in the streets until shelters could be erected.
What I felt was guilty. Guilty that I reside in town that was left standing, while to north, east and south of me lies complete destruction and tragedy. Guilty that the only person from Crucita who died as a result of the earthquake, lived about 200 yards from me, and I never met her. Guilty that we are okay due to the help of a lot of Ecuadorians, yet we are unable to do anything to help others in need.
That kind of emotion is not any good to me or others. I know it.
I have to live with the fact that as much as I want to, I cannot help anyone. We do not have a vehicle to pick up or deliver donations. We do not speak or understand enough Spanish to communicate with people. A lot of aid has come into the country and the people of Ecuador are moving forward. Help is needed. Just not MY help. A tough reality to face.
I cannot say for others but it seems to be for me. Not that things are normal. They are not. But life is starting to feel normal again.
There is a tiny vacant lot in between our house and the tienda (Frema's) where we shop. We walked through the lot this morning and for the first time in two weeks I actually felt like taking pictures. I included a few in this post.
Did I know this could happen? Yes.
Did I think it would happen? Of course not.
That is the truth.
Like what you see? Please take a moment to easily share it with your friends using the toolbar below.
Thank you!
©2016 TJ & Tamera Overman, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ReUse by permission only.
Wednesday, April 27, 2016
New Beginnings - Life Goes On
I slept fourteen straight hours. My wife only managed four. Not a dream.
Our local tiki lounge/restaurant Rimini, has a generator and have a charging station set up. We can charge our phone. Our main tienda has opened it's doors and we buy supplies. There has been no price gouging. As a matter of fact, shop owners seem to be giving discounts for those in need. Local restaurants like Motumbo are cooking food before it spoils and serving free lunches. We buy food. The weather is almost perfect. We are in the beginnings of Ecuadorian winter. It is cool and clear.
Though the Manta airport lost its tower there are helicopters and planes flying in and out constantly. No commercial flights. These are all aid flights from Quito, Guayaquil, and other countries.
Ecuador President Rafael Correa, declares a period of mourning. It will last 8 days.
Trash pick up has been skipped twice now. It is piling up. Not a sanitary state. Some are burning their refuse in vacant lots. We may have to as well.
Yes, there are more quakes but none even close to the initial one. These are off the coast though and we have to stay vigilant. Tsunamis are a real possibility.
We are now seeing pictures of other cities including Portoviejo. It is worse than we ever imagined.
We still have no phone minutes to make international calls or cash, but Tamy is going to get us cash. There are a few working ATM's in Portoviejo. We give her our ATM card. She will get us cash. We are told not to go to Manta either.
Helicopters have landed less than 2 blocks from here with emergency supplies. Garbage is being picked up.
The next day WiFi is restored. We spend hours contacting family, posting to Facebook, letting everyone now we are OK. In truth we needed this to move forward, get over the quake. The inevitable question is asked. "When are you coming home?". We are home. If we have to go, we will decide where that might be then. We never ran from hurricanes, we won't run from this.
The next day our landlords arrive. Their family is OK as is their home. They fix the front gate and make other minor repairs. The house is fuego (strong) and we will not have to move.
Water is flowing into our cistern which never leaked. All our friends are OK and all our services are back. It is unbelievable.
Life is slowly returning to normal in the village of Crucita. The mourning period had passed. The music that infuses our life is returning. More and more shops are opening, More and more street vendors are around. Yesterday, we saw bottled water being delivered. Yes, life is returning to normal here but just a few miles away it is a very different story. We have only been here a short while but things will never be the same. Sometimes change is tough. Most times it is tough. The Government of Ecuador has done very well managing this event. The people of Ecuador are nothing short of amazing. We are in awe of them. Chao!
Questions? E-mail us!
Friday, April 22, 2016
The Quake - A Normal Day, Until-
Questions? E-mail us!
©2016 TJ & Tamera Overman, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ReUse by permission only.
"What is that? What's happening? "It's an earthquake! We have to get out of here!"
Rewind.
It is a beautiful, sunny day in Crucita. The ocean is Caribbean blue and glassy. Almost no waves or currents are discernible in the beautiful sea. The breeze is cool and the sun is hot. The day is perfect.
We have very little to do today. Some laundry perhaps. A trip into Portoviejo for cat food. Why not, though there is enough food for another two days. The bus ride is always enjoyable as is the city proper. The mall is very busy. The teen aged girls are dressed to the nines. The boys, are in pursuit. The city as always; is bustling with life. Street vendors peddle their wares. All is good.
We buy our cat food and linger in the air conditioning for a bit. We are happy.
The bus ride back is uneventful. I stand as my wife sits in the last available seat. Many from the city are heading to Crucita for an afternoon and evening on the beach. The bus is always crowded on Saturday. All is normal.
We arrive at our stop. As we make our way down our street my neighbor, fellow musician and friend, Fernando approaches. He is on his way to church. He is doing well. We are doing well. Chao!
Back home now. My wife is enjoying the cool breeze while working on her latest blog post.
I am taking sun in the courtyard. The is a resounding BOOM and the ground seems to quiver. It sounds as though there might be construction nearby. It feels as though they have dropped large boulders out of a dump truck. Five minutes later comes another BOOM. It feels the same.
"Did you feel that?" I ask my wife. "Yes." she says. "It felt like someone dropped something heavy close by."
"I think it might have been an earthquake." I say. I am half joking. No one else seems alarmed. The moment passes and we forget it. For now.
Our friends Tamy and Jared call. Jared wants me to go deep sea fishing with him, his brother, and cousins tomorrow. I am excited to go. I haven't been fishing in a long time.
"We are out of minutes on our phone. We need to recarga (recharge)." says my wife. "We can do it in the morning." I say. I want to make dinner and watch a movie. We eat. We watch the sunset over the Pacific from the terrace as we do every night. Music comes from everywhere as it does on the weekends. The Malecon is beginning to heat up. We decide on a movie and settle in to watch it. It has been a good day. It is peaceful. All is right.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOOOOM! It now sounds as if a giant bowling ball has been hurled at us, rolling towards us as great speed. Is the earth moving?
My wife yells "What is that? What's happening? "It's an earthquake!" I yell. We must yell to be heard. "We have to get out of here!" We get up to run. We are on the second floor of a concrete house. We have to get down the stairs and out of our courtyard or be crushed. It is the only thought in my mind. My wife is thrown off her feet by the quake. I turn and she is flat on the ground looking up at me. Her eyes are huge. The electricity goes and we are plunged into night. She screams again. "What is happening?" I scream "Earthquake! We have to get out of here now!" I grab her and pull her to her feet. She is frozen with fear. I am on the verge. We have no time for fear. The quake seems worse in the dark. Maybe it IS worse.
I pull her to the stairs and she is frozen no more. We hurl ourselves down the stairs and are lucky to make the ground floor. We must avoid falling plaster and chunks of concrete. We make the gate. No keys. I run into the dining room and grab a set. The key doesn't work. The steel tongue of the lock is bent. We cannot get out! We are surrounded on three sides by concrete and plaster. There is a disconcerting sound above the rumble of the earth. The sound of huge rocks being chewed by a living thing. It is the sound of concrete and brick moving against each other. The houses are moving against each other. Slamming together. Brick against concrete. The sound is as loud as the quake. Deafening.
Then there is another sound. Sloshing. I become painfully aware we are standing over our cistern which is full of water. If the concrete slab gives way we might fall in and drown. A single brick comes loose from the wall above us and misses us by a foot. It leaves a red blotch on the cement. The cistern's cement cover is blown into the air 2 feet away and breaks as it lands on the ground. The force of the moving water is greater than its weight. Great gouts of water are being thrown out of the opening. We cannot stay here. Our neighbor Maria is pounding on our gate screaming for us to get out. "Esta Bien!" I yell so Maria knows we are OK. "Otro puerta (other door)!" My wife yells to Maria.
"The back gate!" my wife cries to me. The way leads under our house though a breezeway. We have no choice. She is right. We make the gate. It unlocks easily and we flee down the alleyway. Brick walls come crashing down around us. We make it to the beach. It feels as though we have been on a small boat all day and just stepped onto the dock. The ground lurches and rocks slowly as the quake ends. We feel dizzy and disoriented. No time for that either.
It has been less than a minute though it seems like forever has passed. How we are uninjured I don't know. Our eyes lock. We have the same thought. The beach may not be safe. We run up another alley. Back towards our home and neighbors. Uphill. Higher ground. Our neighbors are here in the courtyard, as wild eyed as we. We speak in broken Spanish. "Tsunami", they say. Slow down. "There might be a tsunami." That is what they are saying. We run to the house to grab our passports, documents, and shoes. We are going to have to run for the mountain behind us. Another neighbor appears on his motorcycle and says "No tsunami, no tsunami!" Leo asks him what he knows. The epicenter has been determined. Esmeraldas, to our north. There will be no tsunami. There will be no more information tonight. This will have to be enough.
We may still have to flee. This may not be the end. Our neighbors return to their home as do we. Blankets, pillows, chairs, and water. Quickly! We meet again in the courtyard. We wait safely away from falling debris. Leo offers me a cigarette. I accept gladly though I have quit again. This is no time for quitters I tell myself, trying to grasp any shred of our situation.
Cars are streaming out of Crucita now. To where I don't know. I search my mind for knowledge of quakes. We have never experienced one before. Was this a big one? We don't know. Our neighbors are saying there have been none like this in their lifetime. They don't know either. Aftershocks are certain. They could be almost as bad. What if the worst is yet to come? We wait in the darkness. Hours pass. We chance our homes again after careful inspection. Yet another quake! Not as strong as the first but it is enough to send us all to the beach. Many are here now. We find out one of our neighbors has been killed by falling debris. I realize we are all in shock. As we sit there there are two more quakes; each less intense than the last.
At four in the morning we make a decision. Back home. We must sleep and the worst seems to be over. It this a good decision? I don't know but we have little choice. We have no information, no way to get news, no way to call anyone. We must sleep because we may be walking or running soon. We insure everything we must have is by the gate. The keys are in the lock. If we have to bug out we are ready.
We have time to think now, laying in the silence and darkness. Are our friends in Portoviejo OK? No electric probably means no water. It means no access to cash. We have no way to contact our family and that thought makes things much worse. We realize this could get ugly very fast. Survival mode. If it is as bad as we fear we must assume the worst and prepare accordingly. We try to sleep doing just that. Sleep will not come. Not until the next afternoon.
©2016 TJ & Tamera Overman, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ReUse by permission only.
Like what you see? Please take a moment to easily share it with your friends using the toolbar below. Thank you!
"What is that? What's happening? "It's an earthquake! We have to get out of here!"
Rewind.
It is a beautiful, sunny day in Crucita. The ocean is Caribbean blue and glassy. Almost no waves or currents are discernible in the beautiful sea. The breeze is cool and the sun is hot. The day is perfect.
We have very little to do today. Some laundry perhaps. A trip into Portoviejo for cat food. Why not, though there is enough food for another two days. The bus ride is always enjoyable as is the city proper. The mall is very busy. The teen aged girls are dressed to the nines. The boys, are in pursuit. The city as always; is bustling with life. Street vendors peddle their wares. All is good.
We buy our cat food and linger in the air conditioning for a bit. We are happy.
The bus ride back is uneventful. I stand as my wife sits in the last available seat. Many from the city are heading to Crucita for an afternoon and evening on the beach. The bus is always crowded on Saturday. All is normal.
We arrive at our stop. As we make our way down our street my neighbor, fellow musician and friend, Fernando approaches. He is on his way to church. He is doing well. We are doing well. Chao!
Back home now. My wife is enjoying the cool breeze while working on her latest blog post.
I am taking sun in the courtyard. The is a resounding BOOM and the ground seems to quiver. It sounds as though there might be construction nearby. It feels as though they have dropped large boulders out of a dump truck. Five minutes later comes another BOOM. It feels the same.
"Did you feel that?" I ask my wife. "Yes." she says. "It felt like someone dropped something heavy close by."
"I think it might have been an earthquake." I say. I am half joking. No one else seems alarmed. The moment passes and we forget it. For now.
Our friends Tamy and Jared call. Jared wants me to go deep sea fishing with him, his brother, and cousins tomorrow. I am excited to go. I haven't been fishing in a long time.
"We are out of minutes on our phone. We need to recarga (recharge)." says my wife. "We can do it in the morning." I say. I want to make dinner and watch a movie. We eat. We watch the sunset over the Pacific from the terrace as we do every night. Music comes from everywhere as it does on the weekends. The Malecon is beginning to heat up. We decide on a movie and settle in to watch it. It has been a good day. It is peaceful. All is right.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOOOOM! It now sounds as if a giant bowling ball has been hurled at us, rolling towards us as great speed. Is the earth moving?
My wife yells "What is that? What's happening? "It's an earthquake!" I yell. We must yell to be heard. "We have to get out of here!" We get up to run. We are on the second floor of a concrete house. We have to get down the stairs and out of our courtyard or be crushed. It is the only thought in my mind. My wife is thrown off her feet by the quake. I turn and she is flat on the ground looking up at me. Her eyes are huge. The electricity goes and we are plunged into night. She screams again. "What is happening?" I scream "Earthquake! We have to get out of here now!" I grab her and pull her to her feet. She is frozen with fear. I am on the verge. We have no time for fear. The quake seems worse in the dark. Maybe it IS worse.
I pull her to the stairs and she is frozen no more. We hurl ourselves down the stairs and are lucky to make the ground floor. We must avoid falling plaster and chunks of concrete. We make the gate. No keys. I run into the dining room and grab a set. The key doesn't work. The steel tongue of the lock is bent. We cannot get out! We are surrounded on three sides by concrete and plaster. There is a disconcerting sound above the rumble of the earth. The sound of huge rocks being chewed by a living thing. It is the sound of concrete and brick moving against each other. The houses are moving against each other. Slamming together. Brick against concrete. The sound is as loud as the quake. Deafening.
Then there is another sound. Sloshing. I become painfully aware we are standing over our cistern which is full of water. If the concrete slab gives way we might fall in and drown. A single brick comes loose from the wall above us and misses us by a foot. It leaves a red blotch on the cement. The cistern's cement cover is blown into the air 2 feet away and breaks as it lands on the ground. The force of the moving water is greater than its weight. Great gouts of water are being thrown out of the opening. We cannot stay here. Our neighbor Maria is pounding on our gate screaming for us to get out. "Esta Bien!" I yell so Maria knows we are OK. "Otro puerta (other door)!" My wife yells to Maria.
"The back gate!" my wife cries to me. The way leads under our house though a breezeway. We have no choice. She is right. We make the gate. It unlocks easily and we flee down the alleyway. Brick walls come crashing down around us. We make it to the beach. It feels as though we have been on a small boat all day and just stepped onto the dock. The ground lurches and rocks slowly as the quake ends. We feel dizzy and disoriented. No time for that either.
It has been less than a minute though it seems like forever has passed. How we are uninjured I don't know. Our eyes lock. We have the same thought. The beach may not be safe. We run up another alley. Back towards our home and neighbors. Uphill. Higher ground. Our neighbors are here in the courtyard, as wild eyed as we. We speak in broken Spanish. "Tsunami", they say. Slow down. "There might be a tsunami." That is what they are saying. We run to the house to grab our passports, documents, and shoes. We are going to have to run for the mountain behind us. Another neighbor appears on his motorcycle and says "No tsunami, no tsunami!" Leo asks him what he knows. The epicenter has been determined. Esmeraldas, to our north. There will be no tsunami. There will be no more information tonight. This will have to be enough.
We may still have to flee. This may not be the end. Our neighbors return to their home as do we. Blankets, pillows, chairs, and water. Quickly! We meet again in the courtyard. We wait safely away from falling debris. Leo offers me a cigarette. I accept gladly though I have quit again. This is no time for quitters I tell myself, trying to grasp any shred of our situation.
Cars are streaming out of Crucita now. To where I don't know. I search my mind for knowledge of quakes. We have never experienced one before. Was this a big one? We don't know. Our neighbors are saying there have been none like this in their lifetime. They don't know either. Aftershocks are certain. They could be almost as bad. What if the worst is yet to come? We wait in the darkness. Hours pass. We chance our homes again after careful inspection. Yet another quake! Not as strong as the first but it is enough to send us all to the beach. Many are here now. We find out one of our neighbors has been killed by falling debris. I realize we are all in shock. As we sit there there are two more quakes; each less intense than the last.
At four in the morning we make a decision. Back home. We must sleep and the worst seems to be over. It this a good decision? I don't know but we have little choice. We have no information, no way to get news, no way to call anyone. We must sleep because we may be walking or running soon. We insure everything we must have is by the gate. The keys are in the lock. If we have to bug out we are ready.
We have time to think now, laying in the silence and darkness. Are our friends in Portoviejo OK? No electric probably means no water. It means no access to cash. We have no way to contact our family and that thought makes things much worse. We realize this could get ugly very fast. Survival mode. If it is as bad as we fear we must assume the worst and prepare accordingly. We try to sleep doing just that. Sleep will not come. Not until the next afternoon.
Like what you see? Please take a moment to easily share it with your friends using the toolbar below. Thank you!
Constant Readers - We are OK!
Questions? E-mail us!
We have been very fortunate here in Crucita, Ecuador. We were hit very hard but there has been very little damage in our village. This is not the case in most areas. I think most of you have seen the destruction and loss of life on the news and internet. The devastation is unbelievable.
Within 72 hours of the event we had electricity. Our friends helped us to find a working ATM. We have plenty of food and clean water. Public water service was restored just a few hours ago. Internet access was restored late yesterday evening. The buses are running again and even trash pick up is back to normal. Aid is coming in from so many countries. Everyone we come in contact with is very thankful for this as are we.
Columbia, Bolivia, Peru, Chile, Mexico, United States, the Red Cross, the United Nations, Oxfam, and Save the Children are just a few of the many we know of who are involved in rescue and relief efforts.
As I said, we are fortunate. Many Ecuadorians are homeless, injured, without food, and have no clean water. We are working to find a way to help though our friends are telling us to stay home as much as possible and not to travel into the cities right now. We are inclined to listen especially as we are still experiencing tremors intermittently.
The people of Ecuador are amazing. Their resolve and courage in the face of this disaster is inspiring and unwavering. Our friends Leo, Maria, Tamy, Jared, Fernando, and David all came to our aid as if we were family and we are very appreciative of their help. Gracias amigos!
We will write about our experience soon. Thanks to all for your concern and prayers. Chao.
We have been very fortunate here in Crucita, Ecuador. We were hit very hard but there has been very little damage in our village. This is not the case in most areas. I think most of you have seen the destruction and loss of life on the news and internet. The devastation is unbelievable.
Within 72 hours of the event we had electricity. Our friends helped us to find a working ATM. We have plenty of food and clean water. Public water service was restored just a few hours ago. Internet access was restored late yesterday evening. The buses are running again and even trash pick up is back to normal. Aid is coming in from so many countries. Everyone we come in contact with is very thankful for this as are we.
Columbia, Bolivia, Peru, Chile, Mexico, United States, the Red Cross, the United Nations, Oxfam, and Save the Children are just a few of the many we know of who are involved in rescue and relief efforts.
As I said, we are fortunate. Many Ecuadorians are homeless, injured, without food, and have no clean water. We are working to find a way to help though our friends are telling us to stay home as much as possible and not to travel into the cities right now. We are inclined to listen especially as we are still experiencing tremors intermittently.
The people of Ecuador are amazing. Their resolve and courage in the face of this disaster is inspiring and unwavering. Our friends Leo, Maria, Tamy, Jared, Fernando, and David all came to our aid as if we were family and we are very appreciative of their help. Gracias amigos!
We will write about our experience soon. Thanks to all for your concern and prayers. Chao.
Questions? E-mail us!
Follow us on Twitter - @JOTOinEcuador
Like Us on Facebook!
Quick Links
Like Us on Facebook!
Quick Links
Like what you see? Please take a moment to easily share it with your friends using the toolbar below. Thank you!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)