Free Seattle Quake 9.2 by Marti Talbott Page A

started to take a step toward them, but just as suddenly, the ground under him shot up, buckling him at the knees. Next, came the horrifying rumble in the earth.
    *
    Downtown, horrendous shock waves quickly replaced the initial jolt. The deadly rolls forced one side of the city to rise one fifth of a second before the other. The top floors of the tall buildings swayed forward and back, while the middle floors bulged one way, and then the other – straining to keep up with the rapid movement of the foundations.
    In the Bay, the churning water was still drawing away from the sunken waterfront.  In the marinas, more boats snapped off moorings and joined sailboats, ferries, fishing vessels and cargo ships in the deadly upsurge of a massive wave. Directly across from the waterfront, mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers and grandparents on the beaches of West Seattle stared, unable to take their disbelieving eyes off the murderous rising water. Others struggled against the viciously thrashing ground to run inland. And still, the water climbed.
    *
    The sway of the top floors of the Winningham Blue Building caused Seely to slide into the inside wall of the bathroom foyer, only to slide back out the door again. Jenna's head banged against a wall one moment and her knees knocked against another the next. She screamed, "Momma!"  But the unyielding, relentless rumbling in the earth coupled with the heinous discord of the tortured building muted her cry.  Ceiling tiles broke free and pitched downward, exposing steel rafters and gray insulation.  Blood gushed from the top of Seely's forehead and began to run down the side of her face. Another tile hit her left jaw, causing an immediate red mark that would soon bruise.
    In the rooms beyond, the extreme sway of the top floors caused pictures to swing away from walls only to slam back again. Desks repeatedly shifted from side to side, inching ever closer to windowless outside walls. Computer equipment toppled, plaster crumbled, file cabinets fell and papers whipped into a sea of white. And still the earth heaved, the building screeched and the thunder roared.
    *
    The giant shock waves expanded in a perfect circle causing Seattle's hills, suburbs and waterways to violently and repeatedly pitch. Not long after, precariously placed cans and jars fell off shelves in Portland, Oregon. Windows cracked, loose bricks toppled and people ran out of buildings in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Just off the coast of Washington, a ship lost at sea in 1856 rolled on its side. In Yakima and Spokane, wood split and foundations cracked. In Boise, Idaho dogs yelped and cats scurried out of rooms. Swimming pools jiggled in Northern California, and before the earth fully absorbed the initial quake, a church bell rang in Mexico City.
    *
    Under Seattle, only a fraction of a second passed before the next mammoth wave hit, and then the next and the next -- each churning, twisting, rolling, heaving -- and violently moving everything on the face of the earth with it.
    In KMPR's attic, the glass in both the booth and the outer windows shattered the instant the first wave hit. Only half out of his seat, Collin struggled to keep his balance. His mike tipped over and his console bounced a foot high with his arm and elbow banging against it. The hanging Dallas Cowboy replicate swung wildly and the ceiling fan increased an exaggerated circular motion. He took a step toward the stairs. But the convolutions made his foot take too long to hit the floor, and then his knee was higher than it should have been. He took another step and another, each time at war to keep his balance, but movement was slow and excruciatingly difficult.
    His facial muscles tightened and his whole body shook with fright, but when his foot sank again, he lunged for the doorknob. The upward movement of the room caused him to miss and nearly fall on his face. He regained his balance, braced his feet, reached for the knob again, got hold of it and