I was in bed with my baby when the first tremor started. My eldest daughter has a hen who was hatching, and I told my dad that the eggs would all break and there would be no chicks.

Then the shaking got stronger. I prayed to god to help me. I was in total despair. All the walls around us started falling. I asked my mum to get my other daughter who was with my dad in the next room. Thankfully, he had her in his arms — otherwise a wall would have probably fallen on her. When my mum stood up to get her, a wall did fall on her, and she was hurt. She crawled under the table and lay there half unconscious. I was very worried.

My little baby was lying down close to where one of the walls fell. It could have crushed her. It was a blessing that she wasn’t hurt. I could barely move, but I pulled her closer to me. She wasn’t crying, and I kept thinking that something had happened to her. The walls kept crumbling. The light went off. It was terrible. I couldn’t find my shoes. All my family was outside. They were screaming and calling for me to come down. The tide had receded and we were all afraid that a wave would come.

I was in no condition to run, but something told me to stand up. My family came back in to check on me. I asked my sister to hold the baby. My brother offered to carry me on his shoulder, but I told him I would be fine.