Earthquake!

FROM MAN WEA RAET FOR WEKAP! LONG TAIWAN

“Mi leidaon and read insaed rum bilong mi long mek-naen storey long wanfala hae building taem olketa laet start for no braet. Then rum start for barava seksek. Hem olsem wanfala giant hem holem building and sekem. Mi kwiktaem go andanit tebol from noise bilong olketa samting foldaon long floor antap and mekem mi fraet nogud ruf foldaon kam long mi. Hem olsem hem gogo ahed nomoa.” —Wanfala niusman wea stap long Taiwan.

EARTHQUAKE. For herem disfala word nomoa savve mekem man fraet, and insaed long last tu-thri year maet iu sapraes for herem diswan tumas taem nao. Olsem U.S. Geological survey talem, namba bilong olketa bigfala earthquake hem kamap moa big long 1999, and namba bilong olketa wea dae from olketa earthquake hem tufala taem winim average namba for olketa nara year wea go finis.

Earthquake wea winim evri narawan long 1999 hem long Taiwan, wea tufala main sekson bilong graon long earth kam tugeta. Olketa luksavve long 51 difren area long Taiwan wea graon brek followim laen. Dastawe iumi no sapraes hao samting olsem 15,000 taem evri year olketa recordim smol earthquake. Bat klosap evriwan long olketa, no eniwan savve feelim from olketa smol tumas.

Bat hem no olsem long September 21, 1999. Long 1:47 a.m., wanfala bigfala earthquake, wea President Lee Teng-hui sei diswan hem winim eni narawan wea kamap insaed long last 100 year, hem barava mekem Taiwan hem seksek.” Hem go ahed for 30 second nomoa, bat strong bilong hem 7.6 long Richter scale.a Deep bilong datfala seksek hem wan kilometer anda long graon, so wei wea hem no deep tumas nao mekem hem savve spoelem staka samting. “Barava bigfala seksek nao wekapem mi,” Liu hem sei, wea hem stap klosap long ples wea datfala earthquake hem start. “Evri samting long haos barava foldaon olabaot, nomata laet long ruf tu. Mi no savve go aot from glass wea brek and olketa nara samting wea foldaon satem door.” Huang Shu-Hong, wea earthquake torowem hem aot from bed bilong hem, garem difren challenge. “Stretawe electric hem kat, so hem barava dark,” hem sei. “Mi bangam samfala samting witim leg bilong mi taem mi stragol for go aotsaed and mi stap midol long road witim olketa neiba go kasem morning. Hem feel olsem graon gogo ahed for muv.”

Samting Olketa Duim for Sevem Pipol

Long early morning full samting wea earthquake duim showaot klia. Samting olsem 12,000 building, nomata olketa haos or hae building, olketa foldaon. Taem nius abaotem disfala disaster kasem olketa difren ples, olketa savveman for sevem pipol long 23 kantri kam long Taiwan for helpem olketa volunteer long there. Planti pipol still stap anda long olketa samting wea foldaon antap long olketa.

Bihaen long wanfala disaster, first 72 hour hem barava important saed long wei for faendem pipol wea laef yet, bat long distaem, samfala samting happen wea olketa wakman no expectim. Olsem example, olketa sevem wanfala boy wea hem 6 year, nomata hem leidaon andanit long olketa samting wea foldaon long hem for 87 hour finis. And long Taipei, wanfala man seknomoa standap midolwan long olketa samting wea foldaon taem olketa go ahed witim olketa machine for kliarem olketa rabis bilong wanfala 12-storey building wea foldaon. Hem witim brata bilong hem stap andanit long building hia for winim faevfala day, tufala evriwan laef yet!

Bat, sorre for talem hao, olketa no savve sevem evriwan, and olketa wakman mas deal witim samfala samting wea barava affectim feeling bilong olketa. Olsem example, wanfala grup leader barava sorre taem hem sei: “Mifala herem wanfala pikinini hem go ahed for krae go kasem 8 hour bifor. Bat then hem stop.” Long end, namba bilong olketa wea dae long Taiwan hem winim 2,300, and winim 8,500 garekil.

Feisim Samting wea Kam Bihaen

Wanfala waka start for provaedem ples for stap for planti thousand wea earthquake spoelem haos bilong olketa. Firstaem, samfala hia fraet for go bak insaed long olketa building. Diswan hem no hard for minim, bikos insaed long tenfala day bihaen long datfala earthquake, namba bilong olketa narafala seksek wea olketa recordim hem klosap 10,000! Strong bilong wanfala long olketa hia hem 6.8 long Richter scale, wea mekem samfala building wea no stedy foldaon.

Nomata olsem relief waka go ahed. Samfala organization wea no part long gavman—insaed long diswan olketa grup from nara kantri tu, grup bilong olketa Buddhist, Tzu Chi, and olketa man for aotem fire—givim taem and savve bilong olketa for disfala waka. Olketa Jehovah’s Witness tu insaed long disfala relief waka. For followim Bible kaonsel bilong Galatians 6:10, olketa garem tufala goal. Olketa want for (1) provaedem samting wea olketa wea garem sem faith needim and (2) for duim gudfala samting for evriwan, nomata olketa wea no garem sem biliv tu.

Bifor long end bilong firstfala day, Olketa Jehovah’s Witness start finis for tekem go long datfala area, kaikai, wata, olketa tent, and samting for kuk long hem insaed long olketa trak. From olketa telephone no waka, olketa elder from sixfala kongregeson long datfala area waka hard for lukaotem olketa nara Jehovah’s Witness witim olketa relative, and Bible student bilong olketa witim olketa wea interest tu. Olketa encouragem olketa Witness wea no garem haos for camp tugeta mekem hem moa isi for lukaftarem and contactim olketa. Olketa overseer wea evritaem travel go long olketa kongregeson and olketa member bilong Taiwan Branch Komiti, visitim each grup and kongregeson for provaedem encouragement.

Next samting hem for fixim olketa haos and Kingdom Hall wea earthquake spoelem. Each kongregeson wakem list bilong olketa wea needim help. Then Regional Building Komiti organizem olketa volunteer for waka insaed long olketa difren taem and sendem olketa go for fixim olketa samting. Insaed wan month evri waka hem finis.

Olketa Jehovah’s Witness givim help tu long olketa neiba bilong olketa wea no Jehovah’s Witness. Olsem example, olketa Witness visitim olketa hospital and olketa tent community for provaedem comfort. Olketa givim olketa photocopy bilong article “Olketa Natural Disaster—Helpem Pikinini Bilong Iu for Deal Witim,” wea olketa pablisim long June 22, 1996, issue bilong English Wekap! Planti pipol tinghae long wei for kasem disfala information and start for readim stretawe. Taem olketa road start for open moa, Olketa Jehovah’s Witness sendem olketa trak wea fulap witim olketa relief samting long olketa farawe maunten ples wea earthquake barava spoelem.

Olketa wea studyim Bible luksavve hao long taem bifor, Bible talem profesi hao samting wea markem distaem olsem olketa last day, hem wei wea “olketa earthquake bae kamap long planti ples.” (Matthew 24:7) Bat Bible promisim hao klosap, anda long rul bilong Kingdom bilong God wea peace bae stap, olketa man bae no need for fraetem eni disaster olsem. Tru nao, long datfala taem earth bae wanfala really paradaes.—Isaiah 65:17, 21, 23; Luke 23:43.

[Footnote]

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Olketa Jehovah’s Witness holem olketa meeting bilong olketa taem olketa stap long olketa camp

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Earthquake spoelem planti road

[Credit Line]

San Hong R-C Picture Company

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San Hong R-C Picture Company

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Seismogram long page 2, 27-9: Figure courtesy of the Berkeley Seismological Laboratory