This would be embarrassing if the situation weren't so dangerous.
No, this was still embarrassing.
Maria had been out for a walk when the earthquake hit. That had been bad enough for her. She'd never made it a habit to live anywhere that had earthquakes, so she wasn't used to them. It was one of the most unnatural feeling things she had ever experienced. The earth wasn't supposed to move! It was the most horrifying feeling she had ever experienced.
At least until she heard the sound of water rushing toward her. In a panic, she had raced toward the tallest tree she could find near her and climbed up it, not thinking at all about how she would get down later. She had tried to climb down once, only to nearly lose her footing and clinging harder to the tree. She was good and stuck.
Imagine her relief when she heard someone calling to her. "We had a flash flood in the area!" She called back down to him. "I climbed up here to get away from it! I'm kind of stuck now!"