What the Heck?

What the heck is going on in the South Pacific? Please, do tell.

Earthquakes and Tsunamis are not common here in Samoa. The middle age teachers at my school can’t remember the last time, before this school year of course, that they experience earthquakes much less a tsunami. But evacuations are becoming more and more of a norm. Almost half way through the day on Monday (10/19) we felt the earth move AGAIN. All of a sudden the desks started shaking and children started screaming. I immediately ordered my students out of the class room and to head up the mountain. I locked my door and headed towards the middle of campus to start rounding up students and forcing them to evacuate. Even though the events of September are very fresh, the students just can’t fathom another disaster, so they make light of the situation. They don’t understand the “better safe than sorry” mentality. It took a lot of coaxing and encouraging to get the entire campus moving up the mountain towards higher ground. Half of the students are terrified, and the other half just couldn’t give a damn. I can’t understand their thought processes, as much of their island was wiped out just under a month ago. Once we were up the mountain, the phone lines were actually cooperating (for once!) I managed to talk to my dad and had him check the latest news. A 6.3 magnitude (still pretty significant) earthquake had stuck just 120 miles southwest. Luckily it was deep enough that it didn’t cause another tsunami. With all of this, however, I just want to know what the heck is going on in the South Pacific. Severe earthquakes are becoming like uninvited weekly guests who just won’t go away!