East Coast Earthquake.,.,.,.,.

i feel closer to my SF/Cali bretheren/sistren as of today.

about 4 PM there was an earthquake at 4.5 coming up from virginia. we on the 3rd floor could see and feel the walls and floors moving.

no harm done here on the north bank of the potomac.

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/recenteqsUS/Quakes/uscdbf.htm

j$

[ Edited by: Johnny Dollar on 2003-12-09 16:26 ]

Lordy!

An East Coaster?!

Of all the natural disasters, Earthquakes have seemed the easiest to deal with. Clean, dry, and over quickly - like a bad date. Sorry for the natural disaster joke.

I was living in SF for the '89 quake, and in SoCal for the '94 one - I think they look worse on TV than they are in real life.

In '89, we all took our furniture outside for the night and drank and watched the aftershocks flash through. You could see them before ya felt 'em because you could see phone poles in the distance start to wiggle before the quake got to our street.

Welcome to the club, so to speak. Hope ya don't get any that do harm.

I just happened to be in @ the epicenter that day. Didn't feel a thing. I was in my car. Good shocks i guess!

Did you hear that Fatuhiva:http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=6613&forum=5&40

yeah i saw it on the news- It doesnt really concern me that much, especially since the shelves will be faced with plexiglass eventually and they are already bolted to the wall..

but i was thinkin "huh?" when i saw that.

"Major earthquakes are unknown in Florida, and minor earthquakes are not
common, but they do occur. The two largest earthquakes recorded in Florida,
according to the US Geological Survey database, occurred in 1780 and 1879.
Both measured VI on the modified Mercalli scale (used before the invention
of the Richter scale). The Mercalli scale is based on human reactions and
property damage; VI corresponds to "felt by all, many frightened and run
out of doors." So you see, these are not major earthquakes. "

from http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/dec98/913839530.Es.r.html

[ Edited by: fatuhiva on 2003-12-11 16:16 ]

I think I speak for most Californians when I say - I'll take an earthquake over a hurricane or a noreaster any day. Unless there's a wildfire, then we wouldn't mind a good soaking!

I remember that during the '94 quake that there were a number of CNN journalists staying here in L.A. to attend a dinner in honor of Bernard Schwartz, one of their main anchors. They were staying at the Beverly Wilshire. Bernie himself was I think the first one of any network to get a phone line through and give a first-hand report of the experience.

Anyway, I remember the quake was a topic on Larry King's show a night or two later. Larry had been in town for the dinner. A guest asked him to compare earthquakes to hurricanes and other types of natural disasters he had experienced. I will always remember his response as he slowly shook his head and said, "this was...much worse." With a hurricane or tornado you get some warning. There is time to prepare and, especially with a tornado, a good chance that a majority of those who live in the area of concern, no damage. Maybe the fear that you will lose everything, combined with the hours and hours of waiting for it to play out makes it as miserable as a quake, though!

With an earthquake there is so far, no way to warn us of the impending disaster. Everybody within a gigantic swath of the geographic area will get a hearty 3-D taste of it. Your home may remain standing, but millions are treated to that visceral shock and it is bizarre!

I lived in New York for my 1st 20 years & experienced 2 earthquakes, neither one much stronger than a large truck rumbling past. I lived in LA for 10 years & experienced probably more than a dozen earthquakes & aftershocks stronger than those.

I have slept through hurricanes & even a tornado (the tornado woke me up but I fell right back to sleep), but I've never slept through any but the mildest earthquakes.

On 2003-12-12 07:40, freddiefreelance wrote:

I have slept through hurricanes & even a tornado (the tornado woke me up but I fell right back to sleep), but I've never slept through any but the mildest earthquakes.

You must be a pretty light sleeper. I've lived in California all my life and never been awakened by an earthquake.

[ Edited by: Shipwreckjoey on 2003-12-25 13:53 ]

On 2003-12-25 03:27, Shipwreckjoey wrote:

On 2003-12-12 07:40, freddiefreelance wrote:

I have slept through hurricanes & even a tornado (the tornado woke me up but I fell right back to sleep), but I've never slept through any but the mildest earthquakes.

You must be a pretty light sleeper. I've lived in California all my life and never been awakened by an earthquake.

[ Edited by: Shipwreckjoey on 2003-12-25 13:53 ]

I lived in Hollywood during the Northridge quake. All my dishes & glasses (and my last international beer bottle collection) were broken, everything in the medicine cabinet ended up on the bathroom floor, and a new desk exploded while all the lights flicked on & off like strobe lights. I don't think even you'd sleep through that, Joey.

You're right Freddie, that Northridge quake was a bad one. I was living down here in San Diego at the time but I can remember my niece calling me from Santa Monica & telling me about it. I did experience the Whittier quake when I lived there in the mid '80's. My office looked out on L.A. harbor and I watched the Vincent Thomas bridge swaying as the place shook. A real E-ticket ride.