Earthquake in Beijing

Well, it's the third time I've experienced an earthquake while traveling on business for IBM.  Somebody's trying to tell me something!

Around 2:30 PM local Beijing time, about 15 of us in a conference room in the Pacific Century Center building where IBM's offices are located here started to get a sense of dizziness, then realizing we were undergoing a powerful earthquake. 

We were situated on the 20th floor, and the quake lasted for a good 30-40 seconds.  We immediately started filing out of the conference room and down the stairwell to get out of the building, and while the evacuation was calm and orderly, it was nervewracking nevertheless.

We waited for about an hour before going back into the building and gathering our things, before heading back to the Beijing Hilton for a much needed cocktail.

The quake now seems to be widely reported in the major media, including CNN, The New York Times, and other news outlets.

No damage seems to have been reported from here in Beijing, but in the southwestern province of Chengdu they seem not to have fared so well, with a high school building having collapsed and trapping some 900 schoolchildren. 

I hope the Chinese are able to come to their rescue soon.  Meanwhile, we pray for no significant aftershocks here in Beijing.

This is all really compelling evidence for more videoconferencing!