I had found a cave to live in and had spent three or four months building a wall around its entrance. It meant that I had to enter my home by using a ladder, but I least I would be safe from the wild animals and any other creatures which may live on the Island.
When I had finally finishing building ,I pitched my tent, ,in the space between the cave mouth and the wall and felt very comfortable and content. However, this feeling didn’t last long. The very next day, when I was busy in my new home , just inside the entrance to the cave, I saw some earth falling from the roof of my cave ,and I heard two of the supporting posts ,which I had put up , make a frightening ,cracking noise. I was afraid that the roof of the cave was about to fall in and bury me alive , so I ran to my ladder and climbed over the wall to get clear of any falling rocks which might roll down the hill.
The moment I stepped down onto the ground, I realised that a terrible earthquake was taking place. The ground I was standing on shook three times, with a pause of about, eight minutes between each tremor. The shaking was so strong that it would have brought down the strongest building in the world. Huge waves were crashing on the shore and making a terrible noise as the earthquake shook the water. I think that the shocks must have been stronger under the water than they were on land.
The experience frightened me so much that I was stunned , and could do nothing but stare around me. I felt sick from the shaking of the earth, as if i was in a boat on a rough sea. Then suddenly, I heard a crash as rocks fell from the hill , and I was filled with fear. I was worried that my months of work would have been destroyed in a few minutes and that my fewbelongings would be destroyed. This thought made me so sad that I felt my heart sink in my chest.
I sat on the ground until I was sure that the earthquake had stopped. When there was no shaking for some time , and it seemed that wall hadn’t been damaged by the earthquake, I began to feel my courage returning. However I was still afraid to go back into my cave in case the roof collapsed on top of me. I didn’t know what to do .
As I sat there, the sky became grey and rain cloudsgathered overhead. The wind began to blow , and grew stronger and stronger, until , in no more than half an hour ,a dreadfulhurricane was blowing. The sea was rough ,and trees were being pulled up by their roots. It was a terriblestorm. After three hours , the wind dropped and the rain started. Through all this, I stayed sitting on the ground afraid to move.
Suddenly, I realized that this strange weather must be a result of the earthquake and therefore ,it must mean that the earthquake was over. If I was right ,then it was safe to return to my cave. I felt happier at this thought, and went and sat in my tent, where I could shelter from the rain. However, my tent was being beaten so hard by the storm that I was forced to go into cave , although I was still nervous and unsure about the safety of the roof.
After some time, I began to feel calmer. There had been no more shaking , but I had made a new plan. If earthquakes happened often on this island , the I would have to build a new home. A cave was not a safe place to live. This time , I would make a hut, surrounded by a wall , and I would live there without fear.