It was about five in the morning when my oldest son ran to my room and knocked on the door, calling me.
"Mom, wake up!"
I jumped out of bed as if propelled by a spring. I was still half asleep. I don't know why I thought I was shaking.
When I opened the bedroom door I saw him standing there with his eyes wide open. He was very scared.
"What's going on, son?"
He was talking very fast.
"I just looked out my bedroom window, and the sky was red. I looked down, and people were running back and forth across the avenue. Cars were slowing down, trying not to run them over. I thought it was the end of the world. It looked like an apocalyptic scene".
We lived on a fairly high floor, so I imagined the scene, my son's first impression, and I don't know why, it was funny. Looked like a scene from a movie
We went to the balcony and when we looked out we saw a great glow towards the south of the city, near the lake. The sky had yellow and red tones. At that moment I realized the danger.
I called my daughters, who were staying at a friend's house that night, and told them to come home. They were very frightened and witnessed the explosion that occurred in an army ammunition depot.
They were awake and ran to the window because they saw a flash and fireworks.
"We were there watching them when we heard a loud explosion and saw how the explosive force moved like a breeze in a circle that advanced until it reached the building and propelled us. Just like in the movies, mommy!, we were left with our hair backward and then pebbles began to fall from the roof of the building. We got scared and threw ourselves to the ground, and some of us started to cry", as my daughter told me very excitedly.
In the streets, there was chaos and hysteria. People came out of their houses and ran around aimlessly. I went down with my children, my cat and my dog. We still didn't know for sure what the real danger was.
It was said that there could be other explosions that would wipe out nearby residential areas. Police and firefighters arrived to orient and control people.
Those who had vehicles moved away, many took the mountain road and escaped as far as possible.
I didn't have a vehicle, and I didn't think it was a good idea to run away without knowing where to go. So I told my children as calmly as possible.
"We are going to stay here until we wait for the news and then decide what we can do".
We sat on the bleachers of the field with other neighbors who stayed behind, and there we kept each other informed via cell phones.
The situation was apparently under control by the government, and as the hours passed, the damage and possible risks were assessed. At the end of the afternoon, the people were informed that they could return to their homes.
It was a very distressing and dangerous situation, and most people reacted instinctively to protect their lives. Run, flee as fast and as far away as possible.
But not all of us reacted that way. Waiting and knowing for sure what is happening and then making a decision was the other way to react to danger. I don't know if it will always be convenient, but in this case, it was the best.
We went up to our house, the atmosphere was still tense, but little by little the nervousness was diminishing. The people who had moved away returned to their homes.
Spanish Version
Pánico bajo el cielo iluminado
Eran como las cinco de la mañana y yo estaba en un sueño profundo. Era dia de descanso, cuando mi hijo mayor tocó a la puerta llamándome.
–¡Mamá despierta!
Me paré de un brinco. Media dormida aún. No sé por qué pensé que estaba temblando.
Abrí la puerta del cuarto y lo vi parado con cara de susto.
–¿Que está pasando hijo?.
Él hablaba muy rápido.
–Me acabo de asomar a la ventana de mi cuarto y el cielo está rojo, miré hacia abajo y las personas corrían de un lado para otro atravesando la avenida. Los carros frenaban tratando de no atropellarlas. Pensé que era el fin del mundo. Parecía una escena apocalíptica.
Nosotros vivíamos en un piso bastante alto, así que me imagine la escena, la primera impresión de mi hijo y no se porqué me causó gracia.
Nos fuimos al balcón y al asomarnos vimos un gran resplandor hacia el sur de la ciudad, cerca del lago. El cielo tenía tonalidades amarillas y rojas. En ese momento me di cuenta del peligro.
Llame a mis hijas que esa noche se habían quedado en casa de una amiga que vivía en las mismas residencias. Las habian invitado a una piyamada. Les dije que se vinieran a casa. Ellas estaban muy asustadas y fueron testigos de la explosión que ocurrió en un depósito de municiones del ejército.
Estaban despiertas y corrieron a asomarse a la ventana porque vieron un resplandor y unos fuegos artificiales.
"Estábamos allí viéndolos cuando escuchamos una fuerte explosión y vimos como se movía la fuerza expansiva, como una brisa en círculo que avanzó hasta llegar al edificio y nos impulsó, ¡igualito que en las películas mami!, quedamos con los cabellos hacia atrás. Y entonces comenzaron a caer piedras desde la azotea del edificio. Nos asustamos y nos tiramos al suelo y las niñas más pequeñas se pusieron a llorar,–me contó mi hija muy emocionada.
En las calles había caos e histeria. Las personas salían de sus casas y corrían sin rumbo fijo. Yo bajé con mis hijos, mi gato y mi perra. Aún no sabíamos con certeza cuál era el peligro real.
Se decía que podían producirse otras explosiones que arrasarían con las zonas residenciales cercanas. La policía y los bomberos llegaron para orientar y controlar a las personas.
Los que tenían vehículo se fueron alejando, muchos tomaron la vía de la montaña escapando lo más lejos posible.
Yo no tenía vehículo y no me parecía buena idea salir corriendo sin saber a donde ir. Así que le dije a mis hijos con la mayor tranquilidad posible.
"Vamos a quedarnos acá hasta esperar por las noticias y entonces decidimos que podemos hacer".
Nos sentamos en las gradas de la cancha junto a otros vecinos que se quedaron y allí nos mantuvimos informados a través de los teléfonos celulares.
La situación estaba aparentemente controlada por el gobierno y al pasar de las horas se evaluaron los daños y los posibles riesgos. Al final de la tarde dieron el aviso a las personas que podían volver a sus casas
Fue una situación bastante angustiosa y peligrosa donde la mayoría de las personas reaccionaron de manera instintiva para proteger la vida. Correr, huir, lo más rápido y lejos posible.
Pero no todas reaccionamos de esa forma. Esperar y saber con certeza lo que está sucediendo para luego tomar una decisión fue la otra manera de reaccionar ante el peligro. No sé si siempre será conveniente, pero en este caso fue lo mejor.
Subimos a nuestra casa, el ambiente aún se sentía tenso pero poco a poco el nerviosismo fue disminuyendo. Las personas que se habían alejado volvieron a sus hogares.
Traducido al inglés en www.deepl.com
That's was a good decision you made
Thank you for your comment.
Best regards @omoloyo
Thank God they kept their cool. Sometimes tragedies get worse because we act without thinking, in a panic. You knew, as a mother, how to calm your children and protect them. Good for you. Best regards
It is very true what you say. Our survival instinct makes us react in various ways.
Thank you very much for your comment @nancybriti1.
Best regards
Yay! 🤗
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Greetings and Merry Christmas! 🎄🎁
You're very much welcome 🙂🙂
Yeah merry Christmas in advance!!
Thank you very much @melinda010100.
Best regards 🎄💖
What an intense experience, @popurri. How great that nothing bad happened to you and your family since you didn't have a car to flee in. Thank you for sharing your story!
By the way, you might want to check on this sentence, as it does not read well in English:
Thank you so much @theinkwell for the support and comment
In Spanish it makes sense but not in English. I will modify it.
Regards 🌻
It's a good thing you could think before acting and couple with the fact that you did not have car. Thank God nothing serious happened.
Hi @iskawrites.
It was a very tense and dangerous situation but I'm so glad I didn't have to run for our lifes out of there.
Thank you very much for your comment 🐰