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Earthquake!

tmoyer

Intermediate Adventurer
Yesterday, I experienced my first earthquake. I was standing in a friend's tropical fish store when the building shook, lights swayed, and gallons of water sloshed. It was all over in less than 30 seconds but wow! What an experience!

Many people who were driving said they never felt it. This has led me to wonder what would happen if i was on the bike. Any thoughts on this?
 
You would never notice it on a bike IMHO, as the road has more undulations than an east coast quake.

BTW, felt it at my desk up here near Buffalo, Wiggled the chair and made the monitor rock a half dozen times.
 
There are also a few comments in the "Nice Suspension" thread.

Out here, we call that a "moderate" shake, but (heck) yeah, it can be quite scary for people who haven't been through it before. It can be scary no matter how many times... Some rumble or vibrate first; but it's scarier when it just bangs all of a sudden. In past biggies, I've seen telephone poles whip around like willows in the wind, and I was amazed that the power lines didn't just snap.

The question becomes a combination of -
Are you OK? And what's broken?
Is it over?
Was that a foreshock?

Got a post from a good friend in northern VA, who lived out here for many years:

[begin quote]
It was the best ever!
Lasted a good 30 seconds.
I was on the 10th floor of a 10 story apt building in DC when me and my girlfriend heard what sounded like a truck on the street below using its “Jake-Brake”, a low rumbling like a train coming towards you, must’a been 10 seconds of it, then the floor started to shake vertically for about 10 seconds getting stronger and stronger and then the swaying began back and forth for about 10 seconds…if it was a second more, I would have grabbed her and made our way to the staircase!
Then, total gridlock in DC. All the govt buildings evacuated and let everybody go home…only to call them back after 1 hour! Couldn’t get out of DC till 5 hours later…
[end quote]

If anybody wants to watch where they happen, the USGS has a great site -
http://earthquakes.usgs.gov/eqcenter/recenteqsus/
You can click on the locations to zoom in, or use the links on the left for other places.

I see you've had a couple of aftershocks... Hang in there.
 
I felt it in my car...

but I drive an S2000 which is pretty stiff on the suspension side and I was stopped at a light. Looked around and don't think anyone else in their cars noticed.
 
Hang in there, Newstar.

I heard a local news gal this morning say that "we use 5.8 quakes to stir our coffee". It doesn't really get too bad here until you're in the 6.5 and bigger range.
 
Hang in there, Newstar.

I heard a local news gal this morning say that "we use 5.8 quakes to stir our coffee". It doesn't really get too bad here until you're in the 6.5 and bigger range.


You Cali people must be laughing, reports from NYC had them shutting down buildings, for a shake that was no worse than you get from a loud thunder clap.

Heck the news stories were showing broken and toppled patio umbrellas as part of the "devastation" :D

And even here where it was VERY slight that most did not notice it, had the local 911 call centers overloaded................people need to get a life.
 
I was driving, too, and didn't feel it, but my neighbor in his house did. I was in California in 1989 when the Bay Bridge deck fell and I 580 collapsed. THAT was a quake!
 
For the 30 seconds or so that it lasted, I spent the first 15 trying to comprehend what was happening. Actually, it was kinda cool but then again, we sustained no damage.

I know the west coast is probably laughing at us!
 
We feel your pain (snicker snicker...).

But everybody's thankful, it could have been so much worse...

If there's no "gradual" stress relief over time - as with lots of itty bitty shakes - then when it does finally move, it's going to take a lot of unprepared people by surprise, and the damage can be a lot more devastating.

The scientists continue to wonder about the New Madrid fault (southeast corner of Missouri) - that's had a couple of Biguns, but not for a long time.
 
You Cali people must be laughing, reports from NYC had them shutting down buildings, for a shake that was no worse than you get from a loud thunder clap.

Heck the news stories were showing broken and toppled patio umbrellas as part of the "devastation" :D

And even here where it was VERY slight that most did not notice it, had the local 911 call centers overloaded................people need to get a life.

It's all new to most of guys out there. And, the buildings out there are not built to our standards, so a 5.8 quake would be worse out there than out here.

I have to laugh a bit when I see the local news cover small twisters out here. I'm sure the folk in the mid west would laugh at our coverage.

Anyway, I'm glad there wasn't greater damage.
 
I live about 20 miles from the epicenter and had just left the house on the K1200GT not more than 5 minutes before the quake. An hour and a half later at a stop, my wife called and told me about it. I felt nothing!
 
And even here where it was VERY slight that most did not notice it, had the local 911 call centers overloaded................people need to get a life.

I'm in western NY, too, and it was more than "very slight." It was surprisingly strong for a quake in central Virginia. I spent two summers in Alaska in my younger days and this earthquake was comparable to those I felt up there.

Harry
 
We live in the west end of Richmond, about 20 miles from the epicenter of the quake. People on the other coast need to realize that this quake shook a lot harder than a 5.8 would there due to the relatively old bedrock here (and newer, ever changing bedrock on the west coast). It's also something very few of us have ever experienced. I had a lot of things fall in my basement where I was and yes, the first 15 seconds were spent wondering why a plane was flying so low to the ground. It was unnerving.
 
My sister lives in Alexandria, Va but she and I grew up in Northern California. She knew exactly what it was when it hit. She had some crockery and a clock fall over, minor stuff like that.
East coast buildings weren't built with that kind of shaking in mind. Unreinforced masonry structures ought to be inspected for damage. It's a scary thing having the planet under your feet move.
 
The Almighty needs to work on his aim. If he (she?) wants to send Washington a message, it's 50 miles to the northeast of Mineral, VA.
 
It's a scary thing having the planet under your feet move.

I guess it's what you get used to. I don't find earthquakes all that scary, but then I again I've grown up with them all my life and the buildings here are built to with stand them (at least what financially feasible). Now being in the path of a tornado or a hurracane--that's a bit more scary for me.
 
scary?

well, in a word, NO.

i felt the quake in Central PA and was on the phone with a guy who is in NYC and HE had his building shaking at about the same time as i noticed my truck wobbling about in the drive.
after i realized an earthquake had happened i was more in wonder than anything else. BUT the true wonder of it all was it was felt so far off. that, and that i noticed it and seconds later it was felt in New York City, maybe a couple hundred miles from me.
now THAT'S impressive.


if the ground had opened up and there was massive devastation, the MAYBE i'd find it scary...

NAH!
 
Not scary if you don't feel it

I was on the Blue Ridge Parkway returning from a business meeting in Lynchburg. I left Lynchburg at 1:30 PM and didn't feel a thing. I received a text from my son at 1:53 asking why the house was shaking. The sidecar rig doesn't transmit the road feel very well I guess.
 
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