Earthquake!

Question for California residents: Has there been such an intense series of aftershocks to a quake in the state's history before?

From what I have read about San Fran. in 1906 and 1992 as well as Northridge in '94, the aftershocks paled in comparison to the original, fading off considerably.

But this latest 7.1 quake, the third with the same epicenter of 5.0 or greater strength in two days, was felt as far away as Phoenix, apparently.

Any precedent to a series of quakes with such intensity?
Long time San Diego resident here ... it is very common for earthquakes to present themselves in swarms.

We were on IASW during the initial quake. Didn't feel it while on the boats but was surprised to debark the ride and find it closed ... then find so many things closed as we checked the app. Our first thought (regarding the sudden and wide sweeping closures) was a possible terror threat. It was quite a relief when a rather shaken family from out of state informed us of the quake. They looked at us kinda funny then asked, "How could you not feel it? What, are you guys locals or something?" Yep, sorry!
 
Question for California residents: Has there been such an intense series of aftershocks to a quake in the state's history before?

From what I have read about San Fran. in 1906 and 1989 as well as Northridge in '94, the aftershocks paled in comparison to the original, fading off considerably.

But this latest 7.1 quake, the third with the same epicenter of 5.0 or greater strength in two days, was felt as far away as Phoenix, apparently.

Any precedent to a series of quakes with such intensity?
The Northridge quake spawned over 1000 aftershocks with many of those negligible. However about 9 were in the 5-6 Moment Magnitude range, if I recall correctly when studying this particular event. As far as knowing the 1906 quake in San Francisco technology didn’t afford to recording this in high detail and population was much lower so hard to know. But in short these clustering events is an expected phenomenon of earthquakes.

Also just an aside intensity is a qualitative measure on the amount of damage and shaming experienced while Moment Magnitude (more often what the news throws out but doesn’t give a true measure of aftermath) is a quantitative measure of energy released. While the Moment Magnitude of the current event is higher than Northridge the intensity in the LA basin is certainly much less because of the distance away among other items too. Also one thing for perspective a Magnitude 5 is ten times more energy than a 4, a 6 is ten times more energy than a 5 and so on.
 


We are 5.5 hours noth of DL (Central Valley). We felt it here. The water even splashed out of our swimming pool! My husband was upset he didn’t feel it because he was in the pool. No denying it sitting on the pool deck tho!
 
Stay safe everyone! Any advice for an Eastcoaster coming out there in a few weeks, staying in Anaheim and LA? 😨
 
We felt it in our hotel room! I didn't know what to do for safety. I'm really worried about another one......
 


Stay safe everyone! Any advice for an Eastcoaster coming out there in a few weeks, staying in Anaheim and LA? 😨
We felt it in our hotel room! I didn't know what to do for safety. I'm really worried about another one......
Depending on how strong it is, not everyone feels them, so one could happen, and you may not even know. If you do feel one, just get away from the cabinets or things that could fall.
 
The earthquakes are happening in the desert, so we're feeling the ripple effects. They are pretty mild by the time they hit Anaheim. I feel for the people in Ridgecrest and those environs.
 
Some quick tips for CA visitors who are not familiar with being in an area prone to earthquakes:
  • if you're in a building, get under a table, desk, or better yet...stand in a doorway during the earthquake.
  • if you're in a building when an earthquake starts, do not run outside. Why? Breaking/falling glass from windows.
  • buildings in CA are built to earthquake building codes. This means that they WILL move a bit during an earthquake, but will likely not fall off of their foundations or other catastrophic stuff like that.
  • there's a reason why you usually don't see many newer buildings in CA made out of brick.
  • an earthquake in CA can pretty much happen at any time.
  • you won't be able to feel most earthquakes.
  • if you're close to the epicenter, most people can feel an earthquake starting around the 3.0 mark.
  • the farther away you are from the epicenter of an earthquake = lesser effect & less damage.
  • the possibility of earthquakes is, generally speaking, NOT a reason to not travel to CA. Your odds are much better of being injured in an automobile accident.
 
Some quick tips for CA visitors who are not familiar with being in an area prone to earthquakes:
  • if you're in a building, get under a table, desk, or better yet...stand in a doorway during the earthquake.
  • if you're in a building when an earthquake starts, do not run outside. Why? Breaking/falling glass from windows.
  • buildings in CA are built to earthquake building codes. This means that they WILL move a bit during an earthquake, but will likely not fall off of their foundations or other catastrophic stuff like that.
  • there's a reason why you usually don't see many newer buildings in CA made out of brick.
  • an earthquake in CA can pretty much happen at any time.
  • you won't be able to feel most earthquakes.
  • if you're close to the epicenter, most people can feel an earthquake starting around the 3.0 mark.
  • the farther away you are from the epicenter of an earthquake = lesser effect & less damage.
  • the possibility of earthquakes is, generally speaking, NOT a reason to not travel to CA. Your odds are much better of being injured in an automobile accident.
Thank you!!!
 
It isn’t unheard of.

We were waiting in line to go into Oga’s when this last one hit. We’re hoping all the rides open back up soon. I think that was the second longest earthquake I have experienced as an adult. The 2010 Baja Easter earthquake was the same magnitude and lasted 89 seconds.

That 7.2 one in 2010 was scary. I was driving on the 805 in San Diego just north of the 8 during that one. I could feel it in the road before I drove out onto the elevated portion of the freeway over Friars road. I never been more scared in my life.
 
Last edited:
Question for California residents: Has there been such an intense series of aftershocks to a quake in the state's history before?

From what I have read about San Fran. in 1906 and 1989 as well as Northridge in '94, the aftershocks paled in comparison to the original, fading off considerably.

But this latest 7.1 quake, the third with the same epicenter of 5.0 or greater strength in two days, was felt as far away as Phoenix, apparently.

Any precedent to a series of quakes with such intensity?
Technically these aren’t aftershocks. The Jul 4 was foreshock and the 7.1 was the main quake- for now. Subject to change if there is another quake. As such the history books will never show an aftershock stronger than the main event. (I’m a CA native and didn’t know this until yesterday!)
 
Great tips above, the important thing in an earthquake is not to panic. Move to a space that nothing can fall near or on you. We live VERY close to DL and felt the 2 big earthquakes, but the nothing even fell over in our house. A little swaying and it's over. Most of the time, long time locals look at each other and say, "was that an earthquake?" so it's not like a movie earthquake. Also, DL has very specific earthquake protocols for safety and the cast members know how to help and work around the quakes. If you're in a hotel, have your shoes and important papers in a bag ready to go outside if needed, but even that is rare. Enjoy your trip and don't let it worry you.
 
I read that when an earthquake strikes, there's a one-in-twenty chance of a follow-up quake.

As an aside, the first earthquake I ever experienced was in Ohio, of all places (I was 12). For about thirty minutes, we didn't know what had happened because, as we said to each other, "It couldn't have been an earthquake. Ohio doesn't have them." Later on the news we heard that it was exactly 3.0, which, technically, qualified as a quake as opposed to a tremor.

My most memorable quake, however, came at around 1:30 in the morning as I slept in a Tokyo hostel bunk bed. It jittered and squeeked slighly for a few minutes and it made me wonder if the guy in the bunk above me was... well, misbehaving in a 12-bed, co-ed, dorm-style room. About 90 minutes later, someone came in and asked "Did anyone feel that earthquake?" It was actually a tremendous relief.
 
If you're in a hotel, have your shoes and important papers in a bag ready to go outside if needed
But always be cautious going outside after an earthquake as prior posters mentioned. Many injuries happen during and post quake from exiting buildings in a panic without realizing that the external decorative parts of the building can be damaged, and generally will be damaged first, thus having the risk of injury. I would generally ask if unsure if it is safe to exit a building, especially if not local. Also other major sources of injury are improperly secured furniture that can tip over. My guess would be that DLR has all furniture properly secured but under a table is safest as mentioned.

Also one think to note as a rule of thumb anything over 10 stories will generally perform better than a shorter building in an earthquake; some find it counter intuitive.
 
Not as frequently felt as CA, but we get them in Washington, in the Puget Sound area. The last biggie was the Nisqually in 2001, 6.8. I've gotten under desks and dove into doorways a few times.

I remember that earthquake very well. I was working in Victoria, BC at the time, and was at work on the third floor of a building when the earthquake hit. The shaking got worse and worse, until after 15 seconds or so ceiling tiles started falling all around. At that point, I thought "OK, time to get under my desk", but a couple of seconds later the quake was over.

One thing I remember about working in Victoria is that there were masks and whistles taped to the underside of all the desks, as part of earthquake preparedness.

EDITED TO ADD: I've read that the "big one" which is predicted to hit Vancouver/Seattle some day will be much worse than the "big one" which will one day hit California.
 
EDITED TO ADD: I've read that the "big one" which is predicted to hit Vancouver/Seattle some day will be much worse than the "big one" which will one day hit California.
This is correct though very different animals. The destruction at the Vancouver/Seattle one will be very devastating if the “big” one happens during our life time. One thing to remember “soon” for earthquakes is on a geological scale so soon for the earth is a much different measure than a human’s scale of time. So it’s possible to occur this generation the next or a few down the line of more. This is the same for the LA basin. Also these aren’t predicted they will occur it’s just a question of when, which can not be forecasted beyond a geological scale, which even that is a lot of guessing.

Also the Cascade Subduction Fault, the one in the Pacific Northwest, will be a similar off coast earthquake that hit Japan a few years back, cause a tsunami if the fault ruptures with enough energy, now the tsunami hitting anything meaningful depends where the rupture occurs, but likely will cause much destruction.

This article is a bit doom and gloom, discussing the worst case scenario meant to garner readers, but overall it’s fairly accurate.

http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/07/20/the-really-big-one
There is even the New Madrid fault that hasn’t ruptured for a very long time sitting right under St Louis which is ready “soon”. All in all the odds of these event happening within a year are relatively low.
 

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!





Latest posts

Top