5.1 quake gave South Bay students a crash course in earthquake safety

SAN JOSE (KPIX) — For many young people, Tuesday’s 5.1 magnitude earthquake, centered near San Jose, was their very first.

That was definitely the case with twins Leah and Mina Poritz, both juniors at Leigh High School.

“We thought we were trippin! We were like, are we actually feeling it? And then we heard the announcement. So we all got under the table,” said Leah.

“I was very surprised because I never had this before,” added Mina. “It’s my first time.”

Stephen Oshinsky was taking his chemistry test when he and his class felt the shaking.

“At first, I was a bit confused. I thought there was construction going on outside,” said Stephen. “Then I realized that it wasn’t construction. Once I saw other people’s reaction like getting under desks and following standard procedures, then I followed as well.”

This was also Stephen’s first earthquake but he says after all the earthquake safety drills he’s done, he was ready for it.

“Especially living in the Bay Area, I think that we are taught in elementary school from an early age to go under our desks and seek protection and all the standard stuff. Very similar to the stop, drop and roll in fires. I think that’s normal for us,” he said.

Sai Kostelz was out walking in her neighborhood right after the earthquake. She says when the earthquake hit, she felt her entire house shake.

“We felt our house shaking like when you’re in an airplane and there’s turbulence. It’s like that. It was side-to-side like that but nothing fell off the shelves in our house,” Sai said.

Sai says she’s grateful this earthquake didn’t cause any damage to her house and that her family is safe.