I enjoyed this carefully crafted tale. The prose in particular had a nice rhythm and construction like this following paragraph:

On the other side of town, Tom had managed to get out of the house, and from the street he looked out at the widespread devastation. People running, screams, wails, and panic filled the air. At that moment, Tom felt a heavy knot in his stomach and thought of his father; he ran toward the building.

This makes the events more emotional, almost claustrophobic, as the seismic chaos ensues.

A day had passed, and they were finding nothing but bodies. The hope of finding Rudolf alive was fading fast; nevertheless, Tom continued clearing away the rubble from the collapsed walls, revealing a new reality to the boy's eyes.

It's harrowing tale of survival that is very well told.