Wee..Earthquake

[Iggipolka]

So, Florida has hurricanes lined up, but here in California, we've got earthquakes! We were surprised by a 4.0 this evening. http://pasadena.wr.usgs.gov/shake/ca/STORE/X51207740/ciim_display.html

There was a loud BOOM and then the whole house swayed back and forth for about 20-30 seconds. Quite the surprise! Thankfully it was just a little one, so those are actually kinda fun.

The cats hate them though.

 

[zippy doo dah]

That's the one natural disaster I haven't experienced I've always wanted to experience one (just a little one) - is that narcissistic of me???

 

[calypso*a*go-go]

I've been in earthquakes before and it's just the strangest feeling. We lived in a house that was pretty long and had three sets of sliding glass doors on the back wall. All of a sudden the first set started rattling, then #2, then #3. We also had some light fixtures that were hanging from the ceiling and they started swaying back and forth like crazy. It was only a matter of seconds, but I was home alone and it seemed like an eternity!

 

[disneyholic family]

That's the one natural disaster I haven't experienced I've always wanted to experience one (just a little one) - is that narcissistic of me???

i can understand that...there's a curiosity about what it feels like...

we had a somewhat big one here about 10 years ago i think....
it was at about 5 in the morning, so it woke us up....
actually what woke me up was violent swaying of our bed.....
as i awoke, i saw that DH was still asleep, so i knew he wasn't moving the bed....so the first thought was that one of the kids was trying to wake us up by rocking the bed....
but then i looked up and saw no one was standing there...
i immediately realized what was happening and leapt out of bed at the same time as i shouted that we were having an earthquake....
the floor below my feet was swaying incredibly wildly....
i have to admit that my first reaction was that of childlike excitement....woo hoo an earthquake.....but then it went on and on and on..
it was one of the longest ones that had ever hit the area....well over a minute in duration....

we get little tremors/quakes every now and then...but that one was pretty big...but it wasn't the 'big one'....i'm worried about that....i'm not sure how well our house will do if the quake is worse than that....

we're expecting the "big one" some time 'soon'.....this area is on the syrian-african rift where there is a "big one" here every 100 hundred years or so....the last big one was in 1927....
it has happened that cities here have been destroyed by quakes...there is a very interesting archeological site at a city that was completely destroyed by a quake during roman times (beit shean)...

anyway, i do understand your wanting to experience what it feels like...i bet most people are very curious about it....

 

[disneyholic family]

i just looked it up - it was on November 22, 1995 and it was 7.2 on the Richter scale.

but for some reason, they don't consider that the hundred year big one....

 

[KimAshton]

Oh wow. I am coming out to CA next month. I don't need a quake cause I would freak.

 

[JCandKT]

we had a quake earlier this year (centered in southern illinois)... it was early in the morning, around 4 or so? JC was convinced there were people in the bedroom running around. I just couldn't comprehend that we had an earthquake in INDIANA! We had a few small aftershocks, but nothing major.

Freaky! A tornado came through in January about 3 blocks from my house. Those have to be the scariest things ever! The precision of them is just staggering.

 

[disneyholic family]

we had a quake earlier this year (centered in southern illinois)... it was early in the morning, around 4 or so? JC was convinced there were people in the bedroom running around. I just couldn't comprehend that we had an earthquake in INDIANA! We had a few small aftershocks, but nothing major.

Freaky! A tornado came through in January about 3 blocks from my house. Those have to be the scariest things ever! The precision of them is just staggering.

wow!! an earthquake in Indiana???????? i didn't know that could even happen (i'm originally from Michigan)...how very strange....

and a tornado in january...that's totally strange too!!

 

[JCandKT]

wow!! an earthquake in Indiana???????? i didn't know that could even happen (i'm originally from Michigan)...how very strange....

and a tornado in january...that's totally strange too!!

Yeah! Check it out:http://www.theindychannel.com/news/15919536/detail.html

And that tornado.... oh my, I had no idea it was coming and then the tornado sirens went off - I flipped on the news and they showed the projection of the storm and wow --- I've never run down into the basement so fast in my life! It really does sound like a train is coming.

 

[doconeill]

We had a 2.5 earthquake less than a mile from our house in October, and we live in Massachusetts!

We thought a neighbor's tree fell (again - one did a year before), or a house blew up, or something. 911 got so many calls the backup 911 center in another town was getting them.

 

[alebisi]

I used to hate earthquakes when I lived in Peru for about 5 years, thinking of them still give me chills , I'm happy that I've return to Italy, no earthquake alarm on this zone. Stay safe!

 

[Jacklynn]

wow!! an earthquake in Indiana???????? i didn't know that could even happen (i'm originally from Michigan)...how very strange....

I'm originally from Indiana and there is actually pretty big fault line that runs through Indiana, I believe it is along the Wabash River (which is about a mile from my parent's house).

This is southwest of where my parents live, but it continues into Indiana as well.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080424171350.htm

The article says that in the last 20 years there have been 3 magnitude 5 earthquakes, and they believe it is possible it could produce a magnitude 7. Prett big for the midwest if you ask me

 

[disneyholic family]

I'm originally from Indiana and there is actually pretty big fault line that runs through Indiana, I believe it is along the Wabash River (which is about a mile from my parent's house).

This is southwest of where my parents live, but it continues into Indiana as well.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080424171350.htm

The article says that in the last 20 years there have been 3 magnitude 5 earthquakes, and they believe it is possible it could produce a magnitude 7. Prett big for the midwest if you ask me

i never knew that there could be earthquakes in the midwest...
certainly nothing they ever mentioned to us in Michigan...

 

[chirurgeon]

This is probably part of the New Madrid Fault. A major earthquake took place on this fault in 1812. It is estimated to have been an 8 on the Richter scale. The effects were felt all the way to Maine. And this fault lets go every 200 years or so. Hold onto your hats.

Kim

 

[BriarRosie]

Oh wow. I am coming out to CA next month. I don't need a quake cause I would freak.

we had a quake earlier this year (centered in southern illinois)... it was early in the morning, around 4 or so? JC was convinced there were people in the bedroom running around. I just couldn't comprehend that we had an earthquake in INDIANA! We had a few small aftershocks, but nothing major.

Freaky! A tornado came through in January about 3 blocks from my house. Those have to be the scariest things ever! The precision of them is just staggering.

And here I was, just about to post about that April earthquake, too. Where was I during that earthquake? Disneyland. Yes, I go to California only to find out we had an earthquake in Illinois!

I did giggle at the irony of the situation. I still haven't felt an earthquake, and I really don't want to, honestly.

 

[TanyaLovesPooh]

We woke up in the middle of the night in Tennessee a few years ago to one. Our furniture was rocking and it really made quite a racket. That was really weird and then saw the next morning in the paper that yes indeed it was an earthquake.

 

[adsrtw]

Yeah! Check it out:http://www.theindychannel.com/news/15919536/detail.html

And that tornado.... oh my, I had no idea it was coming and then the tornado sirens went off - I flipped on the news and they showed the projection of the storm and wow --- I've never run down into the basement so fast in my life! It really does sound like a train is coming.

It was horrible. We were closer to the epicenter ~ so noisy. Lots of aftershocks over the next few days too.

 

[gr8leg8]

We felt it here, about 8 miles away.

It certainly got my attention, but no harm done.

 

[disprincessatheart]

We had one in Western NY (Rochester) when I was either in middle or high school. It was mild and was very quick - I remember thinking it was a really low flying plane (lived right by the airport) shaking things at first.

 

[SweaterInJune]

This is probably part of the New Madrid Fault.

That's exactly what it was! I grew up in NW Indiana, and I was amazed to hear about this. I'm really interested in disasters and weather anomalies, so I was a bit disappointed to miss this. That sounds ridiculous, I know, but I'm curious--and I always heard that we would get an earthquake, but I took that with a grain of salt. Move to Germany for a year--BAM! Granted this was mild... I'm sure there will be stronger quakes in the future because NMF is a major fault in the midwest.

Moving back to FL in January--I'll likely get to experience my first hurricane next year--not sure how I feel about that. Tornadoes are bad enough!

Anyhow, glad everyone in Cali is staying safe...hopefully you don't get anything bigger for a long time!