LISTEN: Durban woman recounts Thailand quake ordeal
A Durban
woman who's living in Bangkok with her husband says they thought they were
going to die during last week's powerful earthquake.
"I suddenly felt the apartment move and at first I thought someone had banged a door or was moving heavy furniture. I quickly realised it was an earthquake. I screamed for my husband, and we ran and held each other. We stood under a doorway, we could see other buildings in the distance swaying and water from the rooftop pools just spilling over. The sound was deafening. We thought the building was going to collapse from above us," says Raessa Saib-Shaik.
"The entire apartment building just swayed from side to side. Cracks started appearing around us, on the walls and ceilings."
The 7.7 magnitude quake struck Myanmar and was felt in neighbouring countries. Saib-Shaik who moved from Tongaat to Thailand for work last year, lives on the 20th floor of a block of flats:
"Eventually the shaking stopped. By the time we reached the lobby, the building staff were helping everyone into the open grounds and trying to keep everyone comfortable with water, slippers and gowns. Many people just ran out without shoes and in pyjamas. After about three or four hours, we were allowed to go back to our apartment and assess the damage. Lucky for us, it wasn't too bad. There were just a lot of cracks in the walls and ceilings."
Listen to the full interview
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