Los Angeles just hit by earthquake

[DoomBugger]

I am in L.A. I also have Sprint and it took about 45 minutes yesterday for me to receive text messages from a friend in Anaheim after the quake. Today, my Internet is acting weird and I think my cable/Internet company has had some problems post-quake because they are also having trouble with their digital phone service. My modem just lost its signal out of nowhere, and I think it is quake related.

What is scary to consider is that this was only a 5.4 quake, 30 miles out form L.A., BUT because it was still relatively close to L.A. and heavily populated areas, technological things went awry. What on earth will happen when we have a big quake? Not even THE Big One, but any big one! There are so many unknown faults underneath California - the Northridge quake was on a previously unknown fault and you saw what that one was like - and any of them could erupt at any time, and be far worse than any San Andreas quake depending on location! There is a fault that runs right underneath me here in Beverly Hills, and every now and then it lets off a little baby 1.0 quake, but because it is right underneath me, it feels like a bomb just exploded. Imagine a 5.4 quake on this same Bev Hills fault! We would be destroyed and that is not even considered a 'big' quake! Now, the geologists and scientists are saying in no uncertain terms that a 7.9 - 8.1 quake WILL happen sometime in the next DECADE on the San Andreas. Just a few months ago, they were still saying the old vague "in the next 30 years" business. Now it is in the next ten years! Suddenly, they are being forthright and telling us what they probably knew all along - in the next ten years, it IS coming and that is a fact! And that is if another quake on another fault doesn't get to us first!

So it makes you wonder what will happen with technology and with people when that fateful moment occurs? Will it be the end of civilization as we know it in Los Angeles, as mass panic and pandemonium spreads in the streets and all lines of communication and power and financial access are down? I ask myself, why am I living here?! I can't imagine moving far away from Disneyland, but frankly, I don't want to be here when ANY Big One hits! It is like sitting on a ticking time bomb, now that the scientists are being more specific and honest about what they know. It is a scary thought!

Did you miss the Northridge quake of 94?

 

[Disney Dreams]

Are all those people getting a refund???

An earthquake is an act of nature which Disney cannot control. There should be no reason for a refund given that DL had attractions cleared for safety and back to "normal operation" within a reasonable time period. I know many probably asked for it, but come on people, sometimes, no one is to blame. Sadly, everyone wants a free lunch these days - and will ask for it any chance they can. If you were on a week-long vacation at DL, maybe 3 hours of your week was affected. That's 1 nap time for a little kid.

Chaos! See the people pooling out of Fantasyland? I only had my iPhone, and didn't think to get pictures before.

So many people were trying to leave. I'm so sorry for the people that had their vacations cut short.

I'm sorry, but when I look at this picture I do not see chaos at all. I think it is important to keep it within perspective. Trying to exit one of the towers on September 11th would have been chaos. Disneyland yesterday was more just a case of getting to an open area until safety clearances were given.

When I look at that picture I see no one running, screaming, panicking. I see people sitting on benches, standing around, walking to a clear spot. That is not chaos at all. No one had to leave the park. They just had to go outside into clear areas. Some may have chosen to leave, but that was not required. Disneyland made sure all was safe for their guests and got things running again as soon as safely possible. Pretty commendable when you consider how many people are at the park at 1 time.

Yes, that tall light pole is daunting, but look at any shopping center parking lot. Light poles everywhere.

I think it was more unnerving than anything else. It was a pretty good size shaker and can rattle nerves, but it was far from chaos... happily.

 

[Sherry E]

Did you miss the Northridge quake of 94?

Oh no, I didn't miss it. I am a lifelong L.A. resident! It traumatized me to my core! I hated quakes before that, and hated them more even after that one. Everything broke in my house and I was wearing only a towel, with a toothbrush sticking out of my mouth when the quake hit. I was barefoot, running over broken glass to get to my shoes and clothes and had to borrow a candle from a neighbor so I could see where my clothes landed when they flew across the room. I was killing insects that somehow made their way up from the ground because they got scared too, I guess! Oh, yes, I remember that, and it was terrible. I couldn't sleep for a week and I insisted on going to bed fully dressed, in shoes and everything, because I didn't want to be caught undressed if another quake hit!

 

[Sherry E]

An earthquake is an act of nature which Disney cannot control. There should be no reason for a refund given that DL had attractions cleared for safety and back to "normal operation" within a reasonable time period. I know many probably asked for it, but come on people, sometimes, no one is to blame. Sadly, everyone wants a free lunch these days - and will ask for it any chance they can. If you were on a week-long vacation at DL, maybe 3 hours of your week was affected. That's 1 nap time for a little kid.



I'm sorry, but when I look at this picture I do not see chaos at all. I think it is important to keep it within perspective. Trying to exit one of the towers on September 11th would have been chaos. Disneyland yesterday was more just a case of getting to an open area until safety clearances were given.

When I look at that picture I see no one running, screaming, panicking. I see people sitting on benches, standing around, walking to a clear spot. That is not chaos at all. No one had to leave the park. They just had to go outside into clear areas. Some may have chosen to leave, but that was not required. Disneyland made sure all was safe for their guests and got things running again as soon as safely possible. Pretty commendable when you consider how many people are at the park at 1 time.

Yes, that tall light pole is daunting, but look at any shopping center parking lot. Light poles everywhere.

I think it was more unnerving than anything else. It was a pretty good size shaker and can rattle nerves, but it was far from chaos... happily.

I think I would feel much safer in Disneyland than many other places during a quake, and I would not expect them to refund anything. If they did, it would be very nice of them, but it certainly was not their fault. I swear, some people always expect to be paid back for things that were out of anyone's control. I actually would think that most of the people walking around outside didn't feel too much of anything. I think it is easier to detect a quake when you are sitting still and not moving anywhere, and inside a building, than it is outside, walking around in a bunch of people.

 

[CalGal]

Can you imagine the administrative headache of trying to refund everyone's money?!?

I assume that attractions many did reopen later in the day, so how much would you refund anyway? WDW closes down many of its attractions and entire waterparks nearly every day in the summer time when the thunderstorms hit.

 

[Sherry E]

Can you imagine the administrative headache of trying to refund everyone's money?!?

I assume that attractions many did reopen later in the day, so how much would you refund anyway? WDW closes down many of its attractions and entire waterparks nearly every day in the summer time when the thunderstorms hit.

It would be a nightmare for Disney to refund all those people. When we were there last September, it POURED rain for while on one of the days and some rides closed temporarily, not to mention the rain was so heavy and blinding that we basically had to just find a covered bench and sit there for a while. But I didn't ask for any refund. What is the point? We knew there was a strong chance of rain and we went anyway, so it wasn't Disney's fault. In California, you know that, at any time you are in Disneyland, there is always a CHANCE of an earthquake, and people go anyway en masse, so no refunds necessary!

 

[CoolPool]

I was standing in line at the Orange County Fair in Cosa Mesa during the quake. Didn't even feel it. Somebody said, what was that? A lot of people just looked around with a "What are you talkin' about?" look on their face. A few minutes later we were in and on the carnival rides. Even rode the ski-lift ride up in the air across the park. Didn't even know I was supposed to be worried. All the rides were going as normal.

This was NOT Northridge. Northridge threw people out of their beds and across the room even 45 miles away.

 

[DoomBugger]

Oh no, I didn't miss it. I am a lifelong L.A. resident! It traumatized me to my core! I hated quakes before that, and hated them more even after that one. Everything broke in my house and I was wearing only a towel, with a toothbrush sticking out of my mouth when the quake hit. I was barefoot, running over broken glass to get to my shoes and clothes and had to borrow a candle from a neighbor so I could see where my clothes landed when they flew across the room. I was killing insects that somehow made their way up from the ground because they got scared too, I guess! Oh, yes, I remember that, and it was terrible. I couldn't sleep for a week and I insisted on going to bed fully dressed, in shoes and everything, because I didn't want to be caught undressed if another quake hit!

I feel you Sherry! 94 was very bad! We had over $50,000
in structural damage (not to mention all the broken stuff inside) to the house and I thought it would fall down. For me too if there was any romance to earthquakes it ended with Northridge for me and most SoCa folks. I was a baby for the 1972 Sylmar quake and we were just a few miles from the epicenter in NoHo and my baby bed was rolling across the room. We have learned to live with the imminent possibility for utter destruction at any time here and that is just the way it is.

Yesterday I just hope was not a prelude to something much larger very soon.

 

[Disney Anna]

Los Angeles Angels! Best record in MLB!

DODGERS will always be the team in the Southland. GO DODGERS!!!

Mike Scoscia will always be a Dodger.

 

[Sherry E]

I feel you Sherry! 94 was very bad! We had over $50,000
in structural damage (not to mention all the broken stuff inside) to the house and I thought it would fall down. For me too if there was any romance to earthquakes it ended with Northridge for me and most SoCa folks. I was a baby for the 1972 Sylmar quake and we were just a few miles from the epicenter in NoHo and my baby bed was rolling across the room. We have learned to live with the imminent possibility for utter destruction at any time here and that is just the way it is.

Yesterday I just hope was not a prelude to something much larger very soon.

Yes, I think Northridge was a turning point for many folks. I was maybe 3 or 4 years old for Sylmar. I know that older people told me about some horrible Kern County quake before my time, and there was even a Long Beach quake before my time. Were you ever told about those? I wonder how they would compare to the ones we have now.

You know, it is surprising and fortunate that we here, living in earthquake territory, dont have even more big quakes than we do. Look at Japan and other countries that seem to be having BIG quakes every year. I keep thinking, "Okay, it is just a matter of time before we get hit again."

I guess it just kind of amazed me that the particular geologists and scientists I saw on TV yesterday were so certain about a 7.9 or larger within TEN years, like they knew something concrete that they hadn't previously told us. But we just have to all hope we are in safe places when the Big One - or ANY big one - happens and that we will keep our cool and be safe. One good thing - at least we are not in Alaska, wher they have had a 9.0 + quake in the past and could again. Yikes! I think I would die of a heart attack if a 9 happened here!

 

[scooter15]

DODGERS will always be the team in the Southland. GO DODGERS!!!

Mike Scoscia will always be a Dodger.

Dodger fans...you can have LA....true Angels fans want NOTHING to do with LA.

 

[DoomBugger]

DODGERS will always be the team in the Southland. GO DODGERS!!!

Mike Scoscia will always be a Dodger.

The Dodgers were Southern California's team...

The Angels are Southern California's team.

 

[Lisa345]

We were inside the Tower of Terror waiting - we were next into the elevator. I think I felt a small jolt and then a larger jolt - knocked me a little off balance. My first thought was 'what is above us?'. We were on the 2nd floor, don't know if people were below us. Cast members all went running toward the elevators. I actually thought something had happened to one of the Tower elevators, Within a couple of minutes they quietly evacuated the building and we joined hundreds of people on the street. Nothng fell off the shelves in the shops and the food places were still open for business. We were actually getting ready to leave the park and come home. It was going to be our last ride of the trip.
Does anyone know how long it took to bring the rides back up?

 

[PinkBudgie]

Missed this thread. I just posted my "earthquake story" in the other shorter earthquake thread.

Many rides were going again but big ones didn't start until much much later, like Space. If T of T started again, I missed it. Screamin was out and Rapids was out. Indiana Jones was closed even the next day and didn't open until evening and the line by then was 100 min, and no FPs available.

It wasn't chaos. I was on Main Street. Most people were just standing around waiting to see if there would be more. The CMs had everyone come away from the buildings. I didn't see a lot leaving and I was right there by the exit. In fact, I was hoping more would leave but the park seemed pretty crowded after that.