earthquake city

Two to three tremors a day, for the last 3 days. They get bigger. They get smaller. They get bigger again. I've learned that when I wake suddenly, fully alert, in the middle of the night, it's usually a harbinger of another tremor, within the next hour. I lie awake, restless, itchy, angry, until it comes. Then my body relaxes and I sleep again.

The epicenter is at Lake Natron, 155 km away from Nairobi. The geologists say that only the 100 km zone around the epicenter is at risk of serious building damage. The architects say over 90% of Nairobi's buildings do not meet earthquake safety standards, and would collapse in an earthquake.

We forward Red Cross guidelines to each other - Drop, Cover, Hold. We forward the dissenting advice, the Triangle of Life recommendations. We ask ourselves how much of any of this is applicable - or relevant - in Kenya. We keep waiting for someone to take charge, to tell us The Plan, to give us a concrete specific set of actions to take if the Big One hits.