OT: Earthquake

TCrouch · Post by **TCrouch** » Fri Apr 18, 2008 1:45 pm

I didn't want to post a "so what" post, because it seemed terribly insensitive. I'm sure it was pretty scary for somebody who's never been through one, but I'm up here on the San Andreas fault and that's a pretty regular thing here. I was a mile from the epicenter of the Northridge Quake and ended up having a chandelier fall on my back as I rolled over in bed to cover up my pregnant wife. A book case fell on me, the chimney collapsed, etc. A quake like you described for 6 seconds would barely get me out of bed, but I can imagine it was pretty shocking if you haven't dealt with one before.

Just be glad you're not in Cali...but then again, a tornado or hurricane would terrify me, and I'm sure guys back East laugh at those. It's all relative.

LAking · Post by **LAking** » Fri Apr 18, 2008 1:47 pm

The 94 Northridge quake happened on Jan. 17th, my birthday. I think i turned 13 or something. I had a bunch of friends sleeping over. One friend was sleeping in front of the TV. As he got up and left the room he heard a big thud. Once the sun came up and we moved back inside we could see that the TV has fallen on his sleeping bag. I think it was a 36" CRT. Would have broken his legs at the very least.

That said, i'll take an earthquake over a hurricane or tornado any day. As long as you are in a relatively earthquake safe building you should be alright. Just find some cover. A tornado will just rip through anything in it's path, there is nothing stopping it. While you can see them coming they can still be quick and change direction in an instant.

JackB1 · Post by **JackB1** » Fri Apr 18, 2008 2:57 pm

greggsand wrote:
Inuyasha wrote:
sportdan30 wrote:Better it be an earthquake than a tornado IMO.
No. At least you can try to dodge a tornado. You can't escape an earthquake.
You can dodge a tornado? Like 'shake & bake it' Barry Sanders style? If a tornado is headed towards your house, you're pretty much f'd.

An earthquake can be over in 5 seconds & you move on with your day....

An earthquake could definitely kick a tornado's as*!

F308GTB · Post by **F308GTB** » Fri Apr 18, 2008 4:36 pm

JackB1 wrote:An earthquake could definitely kick a tornado's as*!

I'd turn that around - a tornado could definitely kick an earthquake's as*! There's been plenty of civil engineering research in how to design and build structures to withstand earthquakes. Making a dwelling earthquake proof is merely an exercise in design and and updating building codes.

Tornados, on the other hand, back a ton of energy into a small spot. No structure survives in the path of a strong tornado.

So this makes those of us along the Gulf and lower Atlantic coasts most vulnerable. We get the double whammy of hurricanes that spawn tornados.

Brando70 · Post by **Brando70** » Fri Apr 18, 2008 5:58 pm

dbdynsty25 wrote:Hard to dodge tornadoes with all the widabeasts running around getting in your way.

I'll take earthquakes and 8s and 9s over tornadoes and 3s and 4s.

Having been through a high 5 earthquake and in the path of one low F3 tornado, I'll take the quake every day of the week. Earthquakes hit so quickly you don't often even realize what's happening until it's over. A tornado coming toward you gives you plenty of time to think about it.

greggsand · Post by **greggsand** » Fri Apr 18, 2008 7:27 pm

Speaking of the Northridge quake, a pal of mine was a student at UC-Northridge at the time & dropped acid about 4 hours before the earthquake. Talk about bad timing. Fortunately, he was just thrown off his bed, but def a bad trip....

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Tue Jul 29, 2008 3:06 pm

Earthquakes are fun...5.8 just east of Los Angeles...and we felt it all the way up in Ventura...about 70 miles away.

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Tue Jul 29, 2008 3:16 pm

Nothing like an earthquake or hurricane to get the media all lathered up. I think they seem to enjoy these events.

Fox News is in news heaven right now.

matthewk · Post by **matthewk** » Tue Jul 29, 2008 4:14 pm

Damn that GW!! (Either one, of course).

Inuyasha · Post by **Inuyasha** » Tue Jul 29, 2008 6:06 pm

Like I said, you can get lucky and a tornado may miss you, but you can't run from an earthquake.

greggsand · Post by **greggsand** » Tue Jul 29, 2008 6:16 pm

I was in Burbank. That was the "best" one in my 13 years here.

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Tue Jul 29, 2008 7:28 pm

greggsand wrote:I was in Burbank. That was the "best" one in my 13 years here.

Ahhh...so you missed the 94 quake by a year or so then eh? That was terrifying...this one today was peanuts compared to it. But then again, that was 15 miles from my house and a 6.4...this one was 70 and a 5.4. Biiiiig difference.

TCrouch · Post by **TCrouch** » Tue Jul 29, 2008 7:59 pm

Yeah the Northridge one was sick...I didn't even feel today's, but everybody kept asking me if I did on IM

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Tue Jul 29, 2008 8:53 pm

My wife and I lived 70 miles southeast of Northridge in January 1994, and that quake damn near knocked us out of bed.

Still trippy to think about it today.

Take care,
PK

LAking · Post by **LAking** » Tue Jul 29, 2008 9:21 pm

I was on my lunch break when it hit today. I was getting my food at a "Great Khan's" in the Beverley Center mall. The Mall was rolling and kept going even after the actual quake was over.

I was waiting for the guy to cook my food. He was just standing there for a minute or so after the quake was done. I was thinking "Get over it already and cook my food, I only have so much time on my lunch break".

This is when you can really tell the tourists from the locals. The out-of-towners were the ones getting up and leaving the mall immediately while everyone else just laughed and continued eating.

greggsand · Post by **greggsand** » Tue Jul 29, 2008 9:45 pm

pk500 wrote:My wife and I lived 70 miles southeast of Northridge...

Uh oh, Fontucky alert!! Someone hit the 909 alarm!

dem just jokes-I love the inland empire...

http://www.fontucky.com/

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Tue Jul 29, 2008 9:58 pm

greggsand wrote:
pk500 wrote:My wife and I lived 70 miles southeast of Northridge...
Uh oh, Fontucky alert!! Someone hit the 909 alarm!

dem just jokes-I love the inland empire...
http://www.fontucky.com/

No worries. We hated it -- that's why we left!

Take care,
PK

JRod · Post by **JRod** » Tue Jul 29, 2008 10:29 pm

LAking wrote:This is when you can really tell the tourists from the locals. The out-of-towners were the ones getting up and leaving the mall immediately while everyone else just laughed and continued eating.

That philosophy seems destined to fail when you get a bad one.

F308GTB · Post by **F308GTB** » Tue Jul 29, 2008 10:34 pm

Slept right through a 6.8 while in Japan last week. Was about 100 miles away and didn't stir me.

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Wed Jul 30, 2008 1:41 am

JRod wrote:
LAking wrote:This is when you can really tell the tourists from the locals. The out-of-towners were the ones getting up and leaving the mall immediately while everyone else just laughed and continued eating.
That philosophy seems destined to fail when you get a bad one.

If we get a bad one, it ain't gonna matter what you do. It's all about what structure you're in or not in. Just the luck of the draw. No doorway/bathtub/dining room table is gonna save you.