earthquakes suck...

...especially at 4:05 in the morning! i wake up to my bed being violently shaken. i set my feet on the floor, which is swaying. it seems my eyes are playing tricks on me because the walls are moving. i made my way to my roommate's room, who had just woken up, then we hear the voices of people outside from where they had run out. an hour later things are settled back down, and i've calmed down a bit after experiencing my first earthquake. things are better now.

after doing some research online, i find out that it was 7.2 on the Richter Scale. it was centered on the coast on the other side of the mountain range from where i'm living. it was felt over the entire country. here's the damage report:

Two people injured, two houses destroyed and eight damaged at Pizarro; one
person injured and four houses destroyed at Usaraga; about twelve houses
destroyed in the Buenaventura area. Slight damage and power and telephone
service interrupted at Cali. Felt at Armenia, Bogota, Pereira, Quibdo and in
much of western Colombia.

i didn't know this, but i do now: Colombia is located in the northwestern corner of the South American plate, where it meets the Nazca and Caribbean plates. if you want more info or a map, go to these websites: http://neic.usgs.gov/neis/bulletin/neic_qwat.html and http://www.rms.com/Catastrophe/Models/Colombia.asp