Way OT. I'm getting really tired of earthquakes...

[Moses]

I was up working most of the night on Saturday. Finally found some time for a nap around 6 AM. About an hour later I was knocked out of bed by a small earthquake. (3.9, but 2 miles from epicenter).

This morning another one. (3.5) Nobody hurt, but lots of jangled nerves. It funny, as a kid I thought these earthquakes were a blast. Since the '89 quake with all the death and destruction I'm not such a big fan. I wish there was a better way to forecast these things. "Tomorrow at 10 o'clock we will have a 4.2 earthquake centered in Oakland, CA" That would be better. Almost fun like an eclipse or a meteor shower.

I guess I'm just getting old.

[nostatic]

I think there might be some space for you in Kansas

earthquakes...part of the cost of living in CA...

[Tim Walsh]

ahh the advantages of being on the east coast.. now if we could only get 360 days of sunshine, no huricanes and no snow. Ohh and no cold either.

[Moses]

Well, I was born here and I wouldn't live anywhere else. Of course when I win the lottery, I'll definitely have a summer home in Hamilton, Montana and a modest winter retreat in Maui.

[nostatic]

yup, I'm 3rd generation SoCal. I don't think I *can* live anywhere else...

[island911]

The west coast has some earthquakes here and there. . . . But at least we don't have Disaster Seasons.

All these other areas with tornado season, or flood season, or hurricane season. . . annual, disaster season! Now that must get old.
It's much more adventurous not knowing when our disasters will hit.

[Tim Walsh]

at least for 'canes we get some sort of warning. now for tornado's that's gotta suck, only a minute of warning if that and your house is gone.

[boyo]

3.9? That's nothin'... I mean actually, that's a pretty small quake. The Loma Prieta (6.7?) was nearly 1000X stronger. That Richter scale is logarithmic, you know...

I was in Stockton at the time - you haven't experience a quake until you hear it coming towards you. Everyone in Stockton has a car alarm, so I could hear the quake coming up the street. I was off the couch, down 2 flights of stairs, and out the door in 4 steps - before it hit us. Crazy! No damage, just a wild ride listening to the house creak and groan...

-Boyo

[slider]

Earthquakes in San Ramon - there is no substitute....

[Moses]

Richter scale intensity is one thing. Proximity to the epicenter is quite another. The Loma Prieta quake was a good dance, but it didn't knock me off my feet. Sundays little 3.9 was barely felt 20 miles away, but it tossed me out of my rack and on my ass. If you are 2 miles from the epicenter when mama earth has a tummy rumble, it's impressive.

[911/914gary]

In the Northridge 6.7 quake of 1994 I had my 914 on jack stands. After checking for damage in my house I went to my detached garage. I had to break into it. Anything that was on a shelf was on the ground or against the garage door. I cleared the debris around the 914 and noticed an odd scratch pattern on the floor at each jack stand. My 914 moved 2 inches north and 2 inches west that day! Otherwise the car was OK.

[rcwaldo]

Gary, thats one way to move forward on a project

Earlier this year we had a 3 point something earthquake early in the morning. 3 point something doesn't sound like much until its epi-center is only a few miles from you. I was a rather scary event! Just because its 'small' doesn't mean its small to the people nearby.

Chris

[FLAT6FAN]

I would trade earthquakes for Torandoes and Hurricanes any day. Small price for the great weather that SoCal has.

[emcon5]

Moses, I live about 30 miles from you, and I had no idea we had a quake until I heard it on the news.

As someone who grew up in the midwest, the earthquake vs tornado thing is really a wash. Either can ruin your day.

Lets compare the pros and cons:

Earthquakes-- Can destroy your house, but modern construction can help minimize the damage as long as there isn't a fire. More widespread damage (like whole cities). If your house gets destroyed, all your stuff is still in the same place, just in a big pile.

Tornados-- Can destroy your house, construction materials won't do much to help (unless you build out of reinforced concrete). Generally localized damage (may destroy your house and your neighbors, but a few blocks away things are ususally fine). If your house gets destroyed, all your crap is spread all over the place.

I used to live in Kansas, and when the tornado siren would go off, everyone would walk out to the street and look around to see if they could see it coming.

My mother lives about 60 miles north of Oklahoma City, A few years ago, a big tornado went through OKC, and she had debris land in her orchard. Someones family photo's, papers, and cancelled checks. I also remember seeing the results of a tornado that showed a UHaul truck (probably a 15 footer) on the roof of a gas station.

[juanbenae]

san ramon could shake its way out into the bay and sink, i would not miss it, so long as they mailed me my last check.

[Doug Zielke]

I love visiting CA, but always worry about 'quakes.
That, ever since a "small one" (San Jose '81) threw me clean out of my hotel crib at 2 am. Talk about a "wake-up call"!

[tabs52]

Let me start at the begining.

When i was 5 we had a fire on the mountain behind us (1959). That area has just reburned after 40 years (LaVerne fire 2002). My Dad was pouring water on the roof so that the ashes wouldn't catch it on fire.

1968 Same thing 2 fires behind us on the mountain, This time the fire got within a 1/4 mile. Then the big fire of 1968 it looked like Christmas lights on a house. Then that winter we had 30 odd inchs of rain about 20 of it in one month......So there was a flood, it's weird to see your dog swimiining in your garage. And your driveway look like a river. The water came up over some of our neighbors 6 foot block walls knocking them over. Some house further behind us U could step from the ground onto the roof.

1971 Sylmar Earthquake....it started to roll I did get up for that one.

1983 a small 3.0 Earthquake in Upland, CA with the Epicenter about a 1/4 of a mile from the house. It was a jolt with a boom and not a roll.

1987 Whittier.....didn't get outa bed

1990 another small Quake in about the same place.......again it's funny to see the water sloshing outa your pool.

1992/3 Landers and then the Big Bear Quakes epicenters about 50 to 70 miles east both over 7.0......Didn't get outa bed...after it was over I turned on the TV to see how big they were.

1994 Northridge...didn't get outa bed....



Most of the houses in California are frame houses which sway and bend with the earthquake. The big thing to watch for is falling masonary chimmneys and brick work. Other than that the houses are pretty safe. Have to check water and gas lines afterwards though.

Three things about Earthquakes:

1: when the earth moves it creats a wave like a radio wave. So the farther from the Epicenter the more roll U get, conversely the closer U are the more jolt. Thats because the wave doesn't have time to form.

2. Thee direction of fault determines the direction of the wave, thus U may not feel much of the roll at all and still be close to the epicenter. In grocery stores if the wave is east to west north south shelves won't suffer much damage. East to West shelves will thrown everything on the floor.

3. Faults not only move along each other but can move up and down thus they are called upthrust and downthrust faults. The mountains directly behing me, the San Gaberial Mountains are upthrust faults.

About one mile behind where I live now is the Rancho Cucamonga fault You can actually see how the fault runs along the side of the mountain.

Also if U live on land that was once water or sand with a high water table there is something called liquifaction, meaning your house can sink intact right into the ground. Big problem in Bay area and in Japan.

Now is that more than U wante to know?

[juanbenae]

just enjoyed my lunch with a small shaker. only 2.5.

[Sarah]

I've never been in an earthquake...but i've been in tornadoes, snow stroms, ice storms, hail storms (tons of damage to everything), and a few floods. Oh and a couple years ago on vacation in Charleston, SC my husband & I got stuck in a hurricane. Now that was an adventure!!

[CJFusco]

Well this is bound to happen as the End Draws Near.