Beijinger Tells Her Story of the Nepal Earthquake

Celine Suiter, a Beijing resident and French national, was in Nepal during the 7.8-magnitude earthquake that rocked the country April 25. Suiter, an avid photographer, traveled to Nepal for a five-day photography tour with a group of 13 other tourists, while  her family remained in Beijing.

Suiter told the Beijinger's sister publication beijingkids of her experience in Nepal:

The earthquake occurred on the last day of our photography tour. We had been capturing pictures of Kathmandu, scenic views of mountain ranges in Nagarkot, and vibrant street life while visiting World Heritage sites.

On the morning of the quake, I arrived back at our hotel from a walk around Thamel market with a friend. [Thamel is the main tourist district of Kathmandu famous for its markets.]

When the first tremor started I had just finished checking out and was talking to friends at the hotel restaurant. We weren't quite sure what it was at first (I remember thinking it felt like the metro in our Paris apartment) then it started to shake a lot more. I could see two of my friends walking in a zigzag, blundering into tables as if they were on a moving boat.

Somebody shouted “Earthquake!” and we found shelter under tables. Small objects began crashing around us; we could do nothing except watch and listen to the chaos. The floor moved violently from side to side, like it was happening in slow motion.  The quake lasted a good two minutes. When the rocking floor started to slow down and finally stopped, somebody shouted "Run to open land!" We dashed out of the hotel restaurant and joined the flow of people heading to an open expanse of land 500m from the hotel.

Standing in the common area, there was a collective feeling of terror; people gathered and looked at each other not knowing what to say. Then the aftershock came, people dropped to the ground, the earth moved again; more screams, more cries, power lines swayed, buildings shook. The tremors continued, with decreasing magnitude, but with the same terrifying effect. I received a call from my husband who asked me if I was OK as he had already seen newsflash of the events in Nepal. Everyone tried desperately to contact family and friends to assure them of their safety.

Read the rest of Suiter's story of survival on beijingkids.

Photos courtesy of Celine Suiter