Surviving the Earthquake: Hear My Story

The timely “Disaster Diaries” series offers readers a bit of a different twist on the usual books about natural disasters. Its nonfiction chapters alternate with stories, fairly graphic in nature, told from a child’s perspective. Though the children and their families are fictional, their stories are gleaned from personal accounts of natural disaster survivors. In this regard, the subtitles of the books are somewhat of a misnomer for the stories represent less than 40 per cent of the entire text. Each title is comprised of 13 chapters as well as a table of contents, a glossary, an index, and a list of books and web sites for further study. The main body of the text describes the causes and effects of the specific disasters, where on the planet the disasters happen, scientific research, disaster prediction and preparedness, government involvement with respect to new building rules and regulations, and relief efforts. One common thread running through the series is the role that global warming is playing in each of these devastating events. For example, the California wildfire season has increased by 78 days since the 1970s. Additional text boxes provide information about the victims (humans, animals, buildings, infrastructure and entire towns) lost or affected by these tragedies.

Much of what is found in the main body of the text is available in other books, but what makes this series compelling is the first person narrative of (fictional) boys and girls from various parts of the world. Their “recollections” convey the panic they experienced as they and their families tried to flee their homes, find shelter and locate lost relatives, and their sadness over the loss of friends, family, and their homes and villages. For some, the damage to their sense of safety and security will never be repaired. The text is enhanced with abundant colour photographs, maps, diagrams, sketches and satellite images. (A free downloadable teacher’s guide is available, but the activities mainly involve basic recall and presenting facts to the class.)

Surviving the Earthquake: Hear My Story follows Viola, a young girl living on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi which was struck by an earthquake in September, 2018. Viola not only describes the terror of fleeing her home and seeing downed poles, collapsed buildings and uprooted trees, but she also discusses living in a tent city with no electricity and her dismay over the government’s slow response to the people’s appeals for help. The main text highlights the causes of earthquakes (including human causes such as mining, fracking, drilling for oil, and underground nuclear testing), the aftereffects of earthquakes, such as tsunamis, mudslides and avalanches, earthquake zones, and the technological advances which are making structures more earthquake-resistant. There are also examples of some of the worst earthquakes in history.

Informative and educational, the “Disaster Diaries” series’ combination of facts and personal recollections proves that two is sometimes better than one.