I just read from some blog that a 4.6 earthquake struck Aleppo 10 days ago. Aleppo is about 1 hour from where I am staying. It's surprising that nobody seem to talk about it at work and I wouldn't have known had I not been surfing the web aimlessly. And the most interesting thing was I actually felt the earth shaking abit about that time 10 days ago. Actually, I was preparing to go to work in the morning and was basically sitting on the throne in the toilet. Suddenly I felt the apartment trembled slightly. Actually, I was a bit scared initially but that only lasted for a few seconds. Then it was all normal. I later found out that my neighbor felt the same. I felt the same yesterday evening while I was taking nap. (Or maybe it was a dream).
The thing was... although I am staying in Syria, I am totally ignorant of what is happening around me. I know what is happening in Malaysia (thanks to Star). I know what is happening in Iran (thanks to Al Jazeera). I know MJ is dead (thanks to MTV & CNN). But I have no idea what is happening in Syria. And this is because the only Syrian TV channels are all in Arabic and I couldn't find a single English newspaper in this country. So I may be in Syria, but I have no idea what is going on. This is the first time I feel so detached from my immediate neighborhood.
Well the earthquake wasn't quite bad I suppose as there were no injuries or fatalities whatsoever. Perhaps this is why it went quite unnoticed by most people. But if you examine the standard of buildings in Syria, it doesn' take a genius to recognize the potential hazard these buildings present. A massive earthquake would decimate entire towns. I wonder if they even have any building code in this country. Houses seem to be built haphazardly on hill slopes. House extensions is not horizontal but rather vertical! All I hope is there is no major disaster in the immediate future.
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