Earthquake worries...

[Isatricia]

Well, there have been some pretty scary tornadoes in the midwest in the past year or so, but the thing that makes me feel somewhat better about them as opposed to earthquakes is that meteorologists have gotten somewhat better at predicting tornadoes and giving people a chance to take cover.

With an earthquake, you really don't get any warning. I keep thinking of all those dooms day predictions where newscasters keep saying California is overdue for "The BIG one"!

Actually there is a huge fault line in Missouri - New Madrid Fault. They are predicting that if there is a major earthquake there it will be felt a long way and cause a lot more damage than California experiences since things are built to withstand earthquakes .

I grew up in Southern Nevada and felt several earthquakes, but I have actually felt more earthquakes since living in Missouri the past 15 years.

They may be better at giving warnings for tornadoes, but if you live rurally there are no storm sirens. After living in Missouri for 15 years I have only gone to the basement once.

 

[GrandBob]

Actually there is a huge fault line in Missouri - New Madrid Fault. They are predicting that if there is a major earthquake there it will be felt a long way and cause a lot more damage than California experiences since things are built to withstand earthquakes

Yep, the New Madrid fault was responsible for one of the biggest quakes in US history, in 1811.

I remember reading an article about earthquake safety - had to be 20 or 25 years ago now, so I'm sure the data is out of date. But in this article, they rated cities in the US for earthquake risk. Even then, California cities came way down in the risk assessment, because building standards in LA, SF, etc, are so stringent for earthquake safety. The riskiest place in the US for earthquakes? Memphis TN. Which is, indeed, near the New Madrid fault.

-Bob

 

[Isatricia]

Yep, the New Madrid fault was responsible for one of the biggest quakes in US history, in 1811.

I have read that quake was felt on the east coast!

 

[usnuzuloose]

I have lived in SC for most of my life and have been through the big ones. Dont be nervous. Unless they are big, you may not even notice one. I have learned to not let it bother me. You will be alright. I wouldnt even give a second thought. Just come and enjoy your visit.

 

[wbl2745]

Another thing to realize is that the Richter scale, which is used to measure the intensity of an earthquake is logarithmic. OK, what does that mean! It means that a 4 earthquake is 10 times the strength of a 3, and 5 is 10 times a 4. You get it.

I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area about 2 miles from the San Andreas Fault and you could just barely feel a 3, a 4 was noticeable but just for a bit, and a 5 you noticed. We were in the LA area visiting during the Northridge quake, which was as a PP noted, a 6.9. It happened early in the morning and the hotel just swayed a bit and then stopped. It did cause some damage, but I don't think that many people were hurt. So the 6.9 earthquake would have been almost 1000 times as strong as the 4.1 that happened today.

By the way, when the New Madrid fault slipped in the 19th century, church bells rang in Boston! You actually want the faults to slip a little bit a lot rather than save it all up for one really big one. When the New Madrid Fault slips again, it will be a big one.

Currently I live in Provo, Utah about one mile from the Wasatch Fault which is the beginning of the Rocky Mountains. It doesn't slip that often. I wish it would slip more.

I wouldn't worry. No matter where you go there some type of natural disaster that could happen, but probably won't.

Have FUN at Disneyland.

 

[Mugglemama]

With an earthquake, you really don't get any warning. I keep thinking of all those dooms day predictions where newscasters keep saying California is overdue for "The BIG one"!

I was in 4th grade the first time I ever heard about "the big one" (that would be 30 years ago...), and I came home from school terrified. My mom said, "Honey, they were saying that when I was in school, and do you know what? When I came home scared from school and told *my* Mom, she said they'd been saying that since SHE was in school, too".

That's when I stopped stressing about "the big one"...lol. It's not that I believe it will never happen...but I don't stress about the fact that they're always saying we're "overdue".

Granted, I seriously don't want to be on a freeway overpass when it *does* hit, but I digress.

 

[SilentFeline]

Everyone else pretty much covered it all. I just have a few specifics to add. Basically, if you're outside stay away from trees, which can become uprooted and fall over. Stay away from power lines if you can as well because they can snap in really bad earthquakes. Obviously, power lines would only be an issue if you were somewhere outside the DLR area. If you're indoors when a larger earthquake occurs make sure to get under something stable (like a table), hold on to one of the legs with one hand, and keep your head down and covered with the other. Always protect your head.

As others have stated, California gets many earthquakes every day, most of which are never detected by anything other than USGS technology. If you ever do experience a sizable one, it's important not to panic. If you panic you risk the chance of making mistakes, as is the case in any natural disaster. FWIW, I experienced the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake (moment magnitude 6.9, surface-wave magnitude 7.1) at a very young age and I still remember every detail because it was so traumatic. That being said, the idea of ever experiencing a tornado in my lifetime seems a heck of a lot scarier than any earthquake I could experience here. Just my opinion. PinkBudgie made a great recommendation to "have a plan, but don't spend time worrying about it."

 

[rowan1813]

As everyone else said, a 3, 4, or 5 earthquake, you probably won't even feel. In spring of 2010, I was taking a class on the 2nd floor of a lecture hall when I could barely feel the desks moving around. However, it was so light that the prof didn't even stop lecturing! It was only when she saw our faces with a questioning look as we tried to figure out if that was an earthquake or just the F-18s flying overhead (our school is in the flight path of MCS Miramar) that she asked what was wrong. So I wouldn't worry too much.

Like a couple of PP's, the best thing is to have multiple small ones like a 3, 4, or 5 as that releases the pressure build-up slowly and over time rather than a huge one all at once. If you ever have the opportunity, travel up to the Salinas area (Central Coast). You can see the San Andreas fault very clearly through the fields and it really makes you stop and think about the tectonic plates that have made CA the way they are.

 

[dreams91]

Years ago, probably 1991 or 1992, I was staying at the Castle Inn (it was much nicer back then) with a friend and her family and there was an earthquake. If I recall correctly we were on the 3rd or 4th floor. I think we had visited Knott's the day before; at any rate, I woke up from a dream that I was on a stagecoach! I realized it was an earthquake but didn't want to look silly so I didn't get under a desk or anything. (I was a teenager, or close to it.) The room shook a while and then it was over. I don't believe anyone was hurt and I'm pretty sure Disneyland opened (maybe late). DCA was still a parking lot at the time.

Unfortunately, my friend's mom was always scared of earthquakes--we were in the Castle Inn because the villas or whatever they called the 2-story buildings at the Disneyland Hotel (since torn down) were booked, and she would not stay in one of the towers, for fear of earthquakes. So, we left Anaheim a day early, missing a day at Disneyland, and went down to San Diego. I'm still a little sad that I never got to ride the Rescue Ranger Raceway (which we'd planned to do that day). That's why I now try to make sure I do everything I HAVE to do before the last day of my visit.

Looking it up, I THINK it was the Landers earthquake on June 28, 1992 (7.3, 3 people killed--far from Anaheim, and 2 were heart attacks). Or it COULD have been the more minor Sierra Madre earthquake on June 28, 1991 (5.6, 2 people killed, also far from Anaheim), but because of the timing, I think it was the one in 1992. Unless the Rescue Ranger Raceway was torn down by then, in which case it would have had to have been 1991. (I THINK the Disney Afternoon Avenue was 1991 but the character cutouts on Autopia and the Motorboat Cruise stayed up another year?)

Anyway, statistically you likely won't be in an earthquake you can feel. And even if you ARE, statistically it probably won't affect your visit (unless you just decide you have to get out). I would not worry.

Have a great trip!

I was there for that quake too. It was like 5am.

 

[makthompson]

i grew up in california and lived near a major fault line. 30 years later moved to the midwest and a tornado came down our street last summer. I will tell you, that an earthquake is usually 10000x less distructive then a tornado. i wouldnt think it's anything to worry about. I was in the loma prieta quake and the worse thing that happened was we lost electricity and phone's didnt work even cell phones.

 

[SilentFeline]

I was in the loma prieta quake and the worse thing that happened was we lost electricity and phone's didnt work even cell phones.

Wow, I wish that was all I could remember! I was at my babysitter's house at the time and was only 4 years old, but I distinctly remember the sound of power lines snapping outside. My sister (6 years old then), who was in the back yard with the family dog, fell to the ground and couldn't stand up again for the duration of the quake. I guess all earthquakes affect everyone differently. For instance, if I'd been at my own house at the time of the quake I never would've heard the power lines snap because our lines were underground. It's amazing how much that one little detail can make a difference to a young child.

 

[Renae De Liz]

Don't worry about the earthquakes! I am certain that Disney is built with them in mind, so I bet you'll be just fine!

 

[makthompson]

Wow, I wish that was all I could remember! I was at my babysitter's house at the time and was only 4 years old, but I distinctly remember the sound of power lines snapping outside. My sister (6 years old then), who was in the back yard with the family dog, fell to the ground and couldn't stand up again for the duration of the quake. I guess all earthquakes affect everyone differently. For instance, if I'd been at my own house at the time of the quake I never would've heard the power lines snap because our lines were underground. It's amazing how much that one little detail can make a difference to a young child.

What city were you in? I was 18 and babysitting my 9 month old nephew in Castro Valley. Dont get me wrong...it shook good and my nephew fell as he was learning to walk, but we werent hurt or anything. My sister was in SF and there was flying broken glass and what not, but she was right in the center of it too. In Sf with all the tall buildings all over you cant get away from it, but in Disneyland I am sure it would be fine. She was shooken up but fine...Just couldnt leave SF til the next day after they checked and reopened the bridges.

 

[Malcon10t]

I'm in the Central Valley, and we were about 80 miles from the epicenter of the Loma Prieta quake. It was just a roller there, lasted maybe 30 seconds, just enough to let you know "whoa, something is happening!"

As far as worrying at Disneyland, I worry more about the drive down. Coming from the midwest, I would worry more about the flight.

 

[Sherry E]

I agree with what Disney Dreams said - sometimes you will feel quakes (no matter what the size) and sometimes you won't. It depends on your proximity to the epicenter of any quake, and how shallow or deep the quake is underneath the ground. I have felt little tiny 1.3 (or somewhere in the 1 range) earthquakes before - they were sharp jolts - simply because they were centered about one mile up or down the street from where I live! No one in Orange County would feel a 1.3 quake in Los Angeles, though, nor would anyone else in any other part of L.A.

It also depends on how strong the structure is that you happen to be in. You would not want to be in my building when a sizable quake rolls along, because the whole building shakes when someone slams a door, and the walls are very flimsy!

I don't think I felt the quake yesterday, and I think there was one the day before yesterday that I didn't feel as well...which I'm thankful for, because I can't stand quakes!

But, even though feeling a quake can be very unnerving - and I am a lifelong Los Angeles resident who has been through her share of quakes over the decades and hates them with a passion - I really wouldn't worry about it at all! Chances are you will not feel any quakes while you are in SoCal/L.A., and if you happened to experience one it would probably not be a big one...or even a medium-sized one. It will be fine!

 

[SilentFeline]

What city were you in? I was 18 and babysitting my 9 month old nephew in Castro Valley. Dont get me wrong...it shook good and my nephew fell as he was learning to walk, but we werent hurt or anything. My sister was in SF and there was flying broken glass and what not, but she was right in the center of it too. In Sf with all the tall buildings all over you cant get away from it, but in Disneyland I am sure it would be fine. She was shooken up but fine...Just couldnt leave SF til the next day after they checked and reopened the bridges.

I was in San Jose. I've lived in San Jose for all but 2 years of my life, and my first 2 were spent living in Milpitas, which is the neighboring city. I'm always interested to hear different experiences of what happened in that quake. Obviously, geographical location matters, as well as other factors (i.e. power lines, driving, in or outside of a building, etc.) Nobody that I know was hurt. I think the experience was just much more scary to me because I was so young.

I have no doubt that anyone would be fine if an earthquake happened while they were at Disneyland. I was just sharing my experience of the Loma Prieta earthquake for comparison. That was the largest earthquake I've ever experienced and I would still prefer it any day over a tornado (and I've never even been in a tornado). If the OP has no problem with tornadoes, earthquakes should be a walk in the park.