Whole Lotta Shakin’ Going On

The event known as “The Roatan earthquake” has come and gone and in its wake, has left some memorable experiences.

I will start by saying that I am a native of Northern California and as such, am no stranger to Earthquakes. They are a part of life for most Californians and are considered almost common faire.

What I experienced at 2:24 am on Thursday morning, May 28 was anything but common faire. I live in an island-style wooden house in West End. My significant other and I were sound asleep when the quake began and out of nowhere I was awoken by the violent shaking and twisting of our house and the lowest pitch sound I’ve ever heard. I learned later that this is the sound of the Earth being moved by the seismic waves as they roll through, creating a “Low Frequency Effect” (LFE).

Being rather disoriented and fairly certain the ceiling and roof were going to cave in and we would both plunge through the floor to our deaths below, I did the best I could to cover my girlfriend with my body to protect her from the impending falling debris and we rode the quake out lying in bed. It was to say the least, a very unsettling experience. As it turns out, the roof didn’t cave in, nothing fell on top of us and we didn’t fall through the floor.

I have heard some interesting stories about how people reacted during the 30 seconds of absolute mayhem that the Roatan earthquake brought us. Being that we live in a tropical climate, many of the island inhabitants sleep in the buff, so to speak. I have heard more than a few instances of people running out of their house in complete terror only to discover themselves standing butt naked outside. Logic does at some point seem to kick in and prevail and these people all managed to get back inside their respective homes and get something to cover themselves with.

I think the funniest story I heard was from a friend of mine who shall remain nameless for discretionary purposes. His story goes something like this: He and his wife were asleep and because it was hot and muggy he was, of course, sleeping naked. When the quake began, he jumped up and ran over to his dresser, where he opened what he thought was his underwear drawer and proceeded to pull a pair of what turned out to be his wife’s panties as far up as his knees before he realized his mistake. Unfortunately, his wife didn’t have a camera at the ready to record this special moment in perpetuity. Also worthy of mention is the well known attorney seen rapidly exiting his residence in a black speedo with his trousers in his hand. Earthquakes do not distinguish by profession apparently. In the middle of the night and in the middle of an earthquake, everyone gets caught with their pants down or off.

Many people took to higher ground following the earthquake. There were tsunami watches and alerts in effect immediately and several hundred island residents and tourists left their homes and hotels and migrated to the higher points around the island. Fortunately, the tsunami never came and within a few hours the alerts were cancelled and people returned to their homes or places of lodging.

There have been no reports of major damage here on Roatan as a result of the earthquake. In that regard we appear to have dodged a major bullet. I participated in a realtor’s tour about 6 hours after the quake in which a bus full of realtors viewed 20 different locations on the West side of the island. We saw no structural damage at all on any of the homes we visited. It speaks volumes as to how lucky all of us are in lieu of an earthquake that originally measured 7.1 on the Richter scale and has now been upgraded to 7.3.

Mark is the co-owner/broker at Roatan Life Real Estate with offices in the Coral Stone Business Center and in the West Bay Mall. He can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .