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Whimps
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?
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