@Yutolia #153148
I was 5 at the time of the Ancash Earthquake. My family had gone to a resort outside of Lima called La Granja Azúl and we were waiting in line for the trampolines. The first sign of trouble came from a huge cage of tropical birds, who suddenly started shrieking and battering themselves against the wire mesh, trying to escape. Everyone around us shouted, "Terremoto! Terremoto!" ("Earthquake! Earthquake!") and we all ran out into a nearby soccer field for safety.
Although the epicenter was off the coast, tens of thousands were killed by avalanches and landslides in the Andes. In one town, the only survivors were two men in the town jail; the army had to cut a hole in the roof to rescue them. My father was with the American embassy, so he was busy coordinating American relief efforts for months. (Just as later, in Trinidad 1972, he worked to procure vaccine for the polio epidemic.)
I had nightmares of those birds screaming for years. Horrible noise.