A Northern California man visiting family in Colombia found himself in a fight for his life when a monster 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck on Monday.
Andres Martinez, from Roseville, was enjoying a quiet morning in Manizales— about 100 miles from the epicenter—when the ground started violently shaking.
He told KCRA: “We were just sitting down to have breakfast. I was having my coffee and it started shaking. It just kept shaking and shaking and shaking.
“And finally, like 10 seconds, I’m like, ‘I got to get out.’ Everybody got out and it just got stronger and stronger.”
The survivor, who is partly handicapped and endured the infamous 1989 Loma Prieta quake in the Bay Area, said this latest jolt was a different beast that just wouldn’t quit.
He told the outlet that as the walls groaned around him he was nearly trapped inside the crumbling structure until a relative intervened.
While neighbors huddled in the streets, Martinez witnessed terrified schoolchildren in uniform, weeping as the earth continued to heave.
The earthquake has killed at least 111 people. Colombia’s President Abelardo de la Espriella said at least 87 people were injured and declared an emergency to expedite funding for the quake recovery while saying he would visit the disaster zone.
“We aren’t going to leave people alone. They are in our hearts and we are going to tend to people with our full determination,” he said.
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