You might have read recently about the earthquake in Myanmar. It was a pretty big earthquake which only got a little bit of international coverage (being of course because of the horrible Japan earthquake/tsunami, the turmoil in Libya, and the fact that Myanmar ain't exactly press friendly).
The night of that earthquake, Hanoi actually shook too. It was the talk of the town for a few days because a lot of people had to evacuate tall buildings. Huyen and I were having dinner at the time of the quake and didn't feel a thing or just had assumed the rumble was from our stomachs and not from tectonic plates. Lots of people have been telling funny stories about how unprepared Hanoians were for any sort of quake, albeit a small one. Supposedly a bunch of people ran outside in their underwear and took nothing with them. Then after the quake was done, they refused to go back into their homes. I can't blame people for being scared but the thought of dudes in their undies on the busy street makes me laugh.
That said, earthquakes are no laughing matter. I've been told that the new modern buildings here are supposed to withstand a quake up to 8.0. However, I've seen some of these buildings being built and I'm a tad bit skeptical about that.
This year has had way too many earthquakes all around the globe. Lets hope that the Earth chills for a few hundred years starting now!
