After lunch I suddenly got very dizzy and felt like falling off my chair. When this feeling continued for about a minute it drove me crazy and I decided to go for a walk to get some green tea. My boss walked out of her office, looking around and seeming pretty confused, too. I asked her if she felt something, since it seemed we both had a similar inexplicable anxiety. We concluded that it was probably an earthquake. (I think Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome is not that acute.)

I checked USGS, which confirmed that there was indeed an earthquake, albeit ~1500km SW of Beijing. A score of 7.8 is indeed a serious earthquake, but I’m still amazed that we were able to feel it at such a distance.

Turns out it was indeed serious. A couple of buildings collapsed, about 100 dead, but that number will surely rise.

It’s about time the Olympic Games started. It feels like everybody is keeping their breath, hoping nothing serious will go wrong. The T-bet riots were a nightmare scenario, but by the time the games actually start in August, there will have been other, more worrying issues keeping “the west” busy.

EDIT: 5000 feared dead, 80% of buildings destroyed.