The Damocles Sword over your head

Earthquakes are a scary thing. Even though they occur regularly in many places in the world, the idea of a calamity that is capable of such a massive amount of force and destruction is a very foreign (no pun intended) to me. As a German, I am used to the occational natural disaster such as floodings caused by the Elbe or a hailstorm. However, since I have been living in central Europe for all my life, a catastrophy of a magnitude (again, no pun intended) like the recent one on 11/14 is something that I find really hard to grasp. And that recent earthquake was relatively tame, with only two fatalities. Since New Zealand also consists of a number of islands, the danger of a tsunami which can cause even more devastation, is there as well.

From the perspective of an outsider, the inhabitants of such places appear to be a very unique kind. The thought that everything you own and care about can be wiped out and gone within a few moments must shape your personality at least in some way. It may not be part of your day-to-day life, but in the back of your had it is probably always there and the regular minor quakes you hear of must remind you that, whether you want to accept it or not, it may one day happen to you.

Again, this is coming from someone who, so far, never experienced an earthquake and possibly never will. Therefore, this mental image of the impending doom, the Damocles Sword swaying over the heads of all New Zealanders (as well as many others) is probably way exaggerated. But it is fascinating to see how people are willing to accept they are only one unlucky day away from losing everything and having to start over. Maybe it is precisely due to these circumstances. Or maybe it is because of the nice weather.