It was an ordinary school day that was soon to turn into something that TCS students and teachers will not soon forget. People’s responses to the earthquake varied according to their location, what they saw, and how they interpreted the events.

For one of the students, Jacobo Beyer, a senior at TCS it was easy to dismiss the first signs. “The first thing I realized that was happening that was out of the ordinary was that my chair started moving on its own. Then what made me realize that an earthquake was happening was that all the glasses in the cafeteria started moving so hard that they looked like they were plastic bending.” Beyer said. When the shaking intensified, he saw the cafeteria staff running out, and he was afraid of falling, so he walked out of the building slowly.

In times like this, Jacobo was not as quick to respond as most people. “My first reaction was to wait a moment, hoping that it would end soon.” As more students became aware of what was going on, that was short-lived.

“The majority of the students got up immediately and ran outside,” he stated. The earthquake made an ordinary school arrival a time of uncertainty as students scrambled for safety.

One image was still stuck in his mind long after the shaking had ceased. “The moment that stands out to me the most is watching the glasses of the cafeteria shake so violently without breaking,” Jacobo mentioned. The extraordinary sight left a lasting memory in him.

In retrospect, Jacobo thinks that the quake had a valuable lesson to offer. ”I believe people don’t actually realize that starting to run is also dangerous, as things can fall on your head.”  The incidents reflect the need for individuals to be calm and responsive during emergencies.

Math teacher Sandro Berrio experienced the earthquake from a very different perspective. “I stayed calm the whole time. Here in Envigado, on Alto de Palmas, the shaking was pretty mild — I barely felt it, and I didn’t see any structural damage around me, so there wasn’t really a reason to panic”. Mr. Berrio did not panic; he just followed the school’s emergency procedures.

Later that day, he had a change of heart about the event. “Honestly, I didn’t think it was a big deal in the moment. It wasn’t until later, when I saw the news and social media, that I understood the scale of what had actually happened closer to the epicenter in Chocó.”

Berrio didn’t look at the shaking itself, but rather at the student he was with. “I was with one student at the time. We just left the room together and walked calmly to the safe area on campus — no panic, just following the process.”

The greatest impact came after he learned more about the earthquake. “Definitely when I started watching the news. That’s when it hit me how catastrophic the earthquake actually was… It was a stark contrast to how mild it felt where I was, and it put things in perspective.”

The earthquake was felt differently by those in different locations and with different experiences, but both Jacobo Beyer and Sandro Berrio demonstrated that remaining calm and following safety procedures were important elements in responding to an unexpected event.