The Quake

No Smoke Without Fire

Tell -tale signs are warnings and symptoms of underlying factors. The sulphur springs in Yangmingshan are not there for mere existence. Taiwan being located in the Pacific Ring of Fire is not spared of this natural happening. I heard and read about the quake that stirred the island of Taiwan at a scale of 6.4 last evening and the epicentre being 25km away from Hualien ; the town we visited. To think that I was there just last week and I would have loved to imagine my feelings then.
Malaysia as I have often shared with my students is a blessed land. We have oil - both from the seas and the trees. Incidentally while in Hualien we saw a container load of well-packed boxes containing red palm oil for deep frying purposes outside a MCDonald outlet - and a good guess; it was Malaysian red palm oil. We have ore, rubber, the King of fruits and many many other natural resources. Except for occasional down pours and floods here and there we are spared of many natural catastrophes...outside the earthquake zone ; only sometimes to feel the aftermaths of tremors from surrounding countries. A land favoured by God.

So, the trip to Taipei and Yangmingshan again brought to memory how real impending earthquakes are on the island.

The constant smoke is not to contend with ; it being there for a reason.

Ha, what would have happened and how would we feel if the quake had erupted just beside us? Would my smile still stay?

Back at the scene , it was like a make-believe world. I was privileged to see at such close proximity the natural features related to quakes and they are real ; really ?

Again, the hot springs are concrete evidence of earth movements.

I have just texted my sister a couple of minutes ago to find out about the situation. Like the locals, she is used to the movement and even jokingly said that while sitting beside a 8 m high Christmas tree, the star on top looked like it was going to topple but it did not.

Well, of earthquakes and getting used to them. But honestly, thank God we have left the island and we were blessed with perfect weather with only a drizzle on the last day on the way to the airport for the whole visit.

Sulphur springs and smoke.