I was indoors when my world started rocking from side to side; my first instinct was to run for the exit. Others standing with me in the coordination office on the second floor of the K-P Planning and Development department all made a beeline for safety, only to confront a difficult exit route on the ground floor.
It actually forced us to rush through a shallow and cramped subterranean level and ultimately climb up a flight of stairs to reach the arms of safety. Once outside, I saw the crack that had developed in the adjacent building – pouring construction material down over our heads. All the telltale signs of an earthquake.
While running out of the building, I could hear murmurs – a man telling people not to run. Luckily, we all made it outside unscathed.
Glancing over at others in the lawn, it seemed like all the colour had drained out of them; many were out of breath and loudly reciting prayers. An older man standing beside me suddenly could not support his weight and just lay down on the grass as he recited verses from the Holy Quran.
Almost everyone was trying to call home to establish contact with loved ones.
The first signs
The first sound of screaming ambulance sirens told me this was indeed a serious matter. Monday’s quake took place in a province still recovering from the devastation of 2005 which claimed thousands of lives. A decade may have passed, but one look around and I knew everyone’s memory of that horrific day was still fresh.
As I stepped out, I could see choked roads as people rushed out of offices and other workplaces to reach home. When the ground shifts from under your feet, you fear the worst and we did.
As I passed the historic Balahissar Fort, I could see its magnificent walls had also succumbed to the jarring jolts. Travelling through the city, all I could register was massive traffic gridlocks on major thoroughfares and commercial roads such as Saddar, Khyber Bazar and Qissa Khwani. Going through Dabgari Garden, I could see rescue teams scurrying to help people injured by a fallen wall.
Cracks in PDMA office
People were busy inspecting homes and offices buildings for damage. Ironically, even the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) office at the Civil Secretariat developed cracks which employees were busy inspecting.
Block-III of Khan Abdul Wali Khan Multiplex, which recently developed cracks, was further weakened by the shocks. “This building is now completely unsafe,” commented an employee of the PDMA pointing towards cracks in the media wing. “It can’t bear another earthquake because it will fall,” he added. Glancing over at his colleagues, the panic was evident as they stayed glued to the television for details about the magnitude and epicentre of the quake. “It was hell,” Hayat Khan, a government official told me, fear chalked over his face. “I have never felt such a strong earthquake in my life,” he added, standing in the garden of the Civil Secretariat.
As I navigated the roads to make my way to work, traffic policeman Muhammad Afzal told me, “It is peak traffic hour as it is, and to top it off, people are in a state of panic as communication systems are not working.” Standing on Khyber Road, Afzal added, “We have to keep the roads opened so the injured can be taken to hospitals without a delay.” He was simultaneously signalling vehicles to move from Warsak to Khyber Road. The police closed signals and were managing vehicles manually. “This is not a normal situation and we can’t organise traffic using the lights as the load is heavy from all sides,” he explained.
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